Eyes of Pain
by The Struggling Warrior
Summary: With a threat to the world in the horizon, two kindred souls come together to try to save everything they know and love. An instantaneous romantic spark only further complicates things as two people from vastly different lives try to overcome a madman's army, the winds of fate, and their own emotional baggage. The meeting of fire and ice always did tend to have volatile reactions.
1. Eyes of Fire

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 1: "Eyes of Fire"

He remembered many things. Most of those memories weren't pleasant, but he sure as all hell remembered them. They haunted him when he was awake and when he was asleep. It was what drove him every day. If those memories didn't hold him down, he would have flown away a long time ago.

They were the weight which kept him on the earth instead of the sky. Every mistake he ever made played a small part of it, but that was nothing in the grand scheme. Everyone made mistakes, and Hiccup had long since gotten over his own tendencies to trip over himself.

Other people never seemed to get over them, though. No, they were the real weight. It was people that he remembered most. Their stares of disappointment burned his soul more than fire ever seemed to do. Even that wasn't what he remembered the most, though. What he remembered the most was that no one had ever listened to him.

It was a small thing in the grand scheme of things. The smallest things were what hurt the most, though. He hated the fact that he had never been heard No matter what he did, no one ever listened, not even when he did what he was supposed to be. Not a Viking. Not a dragon. Not a conqueror. He was none of those things, so they refused to listen.

That was the weight that kept him from soaring away from the fight, from the conflict. It was a stupid desire to be accepted and heard for who he was that filled his very soul with pain. No person had ever truly listened. His people. His father. His mother. His enemy. His words all fell on deaf ears.

So now, it wasn't really peace that he was after. That ship had long since set sail. No, what he really wanted was someone, anyone, to listen and take the burden of his shoulders.

Fierce green eyes peered down at the clouds that drifted below him. To really have his voice be heard. In end, it might just be a fool's dream.

* * *

Piercing blue eyes shot up from her book as the boat lurched. The woman in the cabin flinched from the rocking. She was not a fan of sailing, not after what happened to her parents, but it was necessary for her political meetings. It wasn't like she could just fly to other islands and countries after all. She had been keeping an ear out for any sign of trouble from the sailors, but the only thing she heard was the calls of nearby ships.

Standing, the young woman placed her book down and strode through her cabin. Her blue dress flowed around her delicate and feminine frame with each step. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open her door and stepped out into the sunlight. Angry shouts rained down on her ears as she moved across the deck and through the crowd of sailors.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The captain of the woman's vessel, a rough and bearded man with more than a few years of experience at the sea, sounded completely outraged. This was understandable considering the two ships on either side of their own craft keeping them held in place.

"It's very simple, captain," A tall man wearing scaled armor stood before the captain, "We are here to take you and everyone on board captive."

"Take us captive…You fool! Do you not see the symbol on our flag!?" The captain pointed up the large mast above them, "This is a royal ship of Arendelle! Even joking about such a thing is an act of war with us and all of our allies!"

"That's fine," The armored soldier shrugged, "We know of your power, your soldiers. You don't pose a real threat. At least not without the Snow Queen."

"You know of me," Elsa took confident steps forward to the much larger men. They towered over her, but she had more power in her pinky finger than they did in their whole bodies, "Yet you still attack my ship. You must be stupid."

"Your majesty!" The captain yelled, "We can handle this—"

He was silenced when Elsa rose a single hand.

"Oh ho! You sure do have their balls in a vice!" The armored soldier laughed, "Not that I can blame them if even half the stories are true. I mean, creating living soldiers of snow? That sounds terrifying."

"It is, so I would suggest leaving," Elsa nonchalantly flipped her braided blonde hair behind her back, "If you do, I will forgive this stupidity."

The soldier seemed to ignore her warning, "You know what stories I didn't believe, though? The rumors that your beauty matched your power. I have to say. You. Are. Beautiful," He reached out to touch her cheek, "I bet you're untouched too."

Elsa smacked the hand away. Her own hand was ablaze with a blue light. The soldier hissed and backed away clutching his now frost covered hand.

"I warned you," Snow and ice danced around her arms, "Now, you'll pay the price."

"Wait! Wait!" The head soldier raised his uninjured hand, "I get it! We can't beat you! Your powers and your soldiers will slaughter us."

Elsa nodded, "Good to see you have some common sense."

The soldier laughed, "But that's why we brought your weakness," He clenched his raised hand.

Turning gears and moving metal sounded from both sides of Elsa's ship. The enemy ships opened the hatches at the center of their decks. Soon, the shifting metal sounds were met with roars that made even Elsa's heart skip a beat. Lizard beasts rose from the bowls of the ship and flew into the air. Covered in strange armor, the monsters seemed ready for battle as they flapped their scaly, winged arms and breathed fire into the air.

Elsa's eyes widened in a bit of fear, "Dragons."

"Fire breathing dragons to be more precise," The soldier sounded smug behind his helm, "What better way to deal with the Snow Queen?"

Elsa's eyes swept the area. This changed things. She would have to focus her attention on the dragons while the soldiers fought, but she wasn't used to using her powers against fire like that. With two of the beasts, she was bound to be beaten unless she unleased her full power. Doing that would kill her soldiers in the backlash, though…

"Yeah, so look who has the upper hand now?" The soldier walked back up to her. He waved his frost covered hand about to bring back some of the feeling to it, "So here's the new deal. You surrender, and we don't kill you all. Personally, I don't care either way, but my boss wants you alive, Snow Queen. He's fascinated by your powers."

"And if I surrender…You'll let my men live?" Elsa questioned.

"Sure," The soldier shrugged, "We're always looking for new recruits anyway."

"Your Majesty, please!" The captain stepped forward, "Your safety is our top priority! Use your full power and don't worry about us! At least then we can die with honor instead of living in shame!"

Elsa shook her head, "I can't do that. I surrender."

"Good!" The head soldier waved his soldiers over. Two men instantly grabbed Elsa and held her hands behind her back. The rest of the soldiers rushed towards Elsa's escorts and quickly held their blades to Arendellen men, "All according to plan! Remember, your Majesty, if you try anything, they die."

"Plan?" Elsa frowned at his words.

"Of course," The soldier got right in front of her face, "After all, we couldn't just attack you at your home turf. But on the sea, you're as vulnerable as any man."

They knew about the political meetings. To know where and when she would be traveling, they would need… "A spy?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," The scaled soldier reached and cupped her cheek, "It doesn't matter to you now. All that matters now is you belong to our boss."

"And who is that?"

"Drago Bludvist. Trust me when I say that he scares me more than you ever could. So I'm making sure you get there alive," The soldier reached and removed his helmet, "But I know he won't care if you're broken a little…"

Elsa recoiled in disgust. Her men protested in outrage. The enemy soldiers all forced them back. None of that mattered to the leader of the enemy soldiers. Despite the noise from the men, another noise caught his attention. It was small at first, but it quickly grew in volume. The head soldier recognized the sound as the very sky around them seemed to be torn in two.

"Night Fury!"

The next thing everyone knew, the dragon of the port side of the ship was covered in an explosion of purple and blue. As the injured dragon crumpled to the deck of its ship, the other was quickly tackled by a black blur. The blur and the dragon immediately began to wrestle, knocking many of the enemy away.

"Not him again!" The head soldier shouted in anger. His rage and shock was shared by the rest of the enemy. That was good for Elsa and the Arendellen soldiers, though. As the enemy began to panic, they began to fight back. Elsa allowed her escorts to handle themselves and focused on the men holding her hands behind her back.

In a blaze of blue, the soldiers were shoved to the side and covered in solid ice from the neck down. Confident that her ice would hold them, the snow woman turned her attention to the leader of the enemy soldiers. In his panic, he had done a full spin looking for something. When Elsa acted, he immediately turned to her with his sword unsheathed.

He had meant what he said when he said that he was intending to bring her in alive. That much was certain when tried to hit her with the dull side of the blade. It would surely crack several of her bones, but she wouldn't bleed out. Desperately, Elsa tried to bring her hands forward to counter the attack. She would be close. There was a good chance she would get hit first.

"AAH!" The man in front of her crumbled to the ground as another black bur landed on top of him and tackled him to the deck of the ship. A quick glance up would reveal that the blur had been sliding down the sails to get an above attack advantage.

Elsa blinked as she took a look at the blur that had saved her. Based on the build, she would assume it was a man. The figure was covered in black armor that appeared to have a similar design to that of her enemies. Almost every part of his body was covered in sleek black armor, but the scales were different. They shined with a surreal beauty in the sunlight but could blend in perfectly with the night sky. Oddly enough, a dragon's head could be seen painted on his shoulder pads.

A thick belt with pouches and compartments hung from his torso. On top of the man's head was a shining silver helmet with spikes lining the top to divide the helm into two parts. The only gaps in the man's armor were two slitted openings for his eyes. In all, he looked rather intimidating; but he had helped her, so Elsa decided to gain at least a little hope that he wouldn't stab her in the back.

Twirling around, she shouted, "Down!"

The Arenellen men instantly obeyed their queen. Much to the confusion of the enemy, they all literally hit the deck. With her men now at floor level, Elsa swept her arms in an arc. Ice and snow followed her commands. The freezing magic swirled around the enemy soldiers, trapping them in an icy cage just like the men that had been holding her moments earlier.

With the men dealt with Elsa turned her attention to the dragons. The one that had been tackled by the blur seemed to be subdued. This revealed what the blur was, though. It was another dragon. This one didn't have wings as its front limbs. The "Night Fury" stood on four powerful, if somewhat short, legs. Long leathery wings stretched out from its back which also seemed to hold a brown saddle of some kind. Strangely enough, the saddle seemed to connect down the dragon's tail and to an artificial tailfin.

The other dragon that was struck by the Night Fury's breath had recovered. It stood looming once more. Anger filled its eyes as smoke poured through sharp teeth. Elsa readied herself to freeze the dragon where it stood. She never got the chance, though. The stranger jumped up from his spot over the unconscious leader to the deck of the other ship.

He pulled out a metal canister from his belt. The metal canister quickly extended into a blade. Then, much to the shock of Elsa, the blade suddenly burst into flames. The dragon reeled back in shock as well. Its eyes followed the blade almost it was in a trance as the stranger swung around his blade. With the anger gone from the dragon's eyes, the man trustingly held out his free hand to the beast. Elsa was surprised that anyone would trust such a dangerous looking beast like that. What shocked her even more though was when the dragon submissively nudged the man's hand with its snout.

Elsa would have sworn that the dragon was _purring_ in content at being in the man's care.

Based on the whispers behind her, Elsa could tell that her men felt similar surprise. They were shocked by the turn of events. For people whose queen could freeze an entire island with ease, this was quite the accomplishment.

"It's okay, friend," The man's soft words drifted over to Elsa, "I won't let Drago hurt you again."

He wouldn't let someone hurt the _dragon_? That was a beast rumored to be created in the flames of hell. It could level entire villages with ease. The animal was as dangerous as it could get. Most people would prefer to kill it before ever considering that it was a creature just wanting to be accepted.

White teeth slid out Elsa's mouth to bite down on her soft lips in empathy.

"Hey, bud!" The stranger looked over his shoulder past Elsa and the soldiers to the Night Fury, "How's the other one."

"Wrah!"

"Okay! I'll calm her down in a second!"

Elsa decided that this was the second strangest day of her life. Right after her coronation day.

The strange man then looked to Elsa, "Um…I don't want a fight. I was just…tracking these guys…I'll get out of your hair in a minute…"

"Wait a minute!" The captain stepped forward once again, "I demand a proper explanation! What's going on?! And why the hell does that beast look like it wants its belly scratched!"

It was true. The dragon now lie on its back. It looked up with pleading eyes up to the stranger.

The man instantly gave in and began rubbing the dragon's belly, "That's because you're starved for attention. Aren't you?"

The dragon let out a groan of happiness.

The man looked back over to them, "Look, I just wanted some info out of the unconscious guy right there. You know, the one with an imprint of my boot on his face. I think he looks better like that."

"Info?" The captain looked outraged. He raised his blade and pointed it at the downed man, "He deserves death for daring to threaten our queen like that."

"Grah!" The Night Fury sounded upset as he continued to hold the other dragon down.

"Just let me deal with them first, Toothless!" The stranger jumped back to Elsa's ship.

'Toothless? What a strange name for a dragon,' Elsa thought.

"Come on, I just need like fifteen minutes," The stranger tried to reason, "This guy knows more about Drago's next move than any one but Alvin."

"That isn't much of an explanation—"

Elsa silenced the man with a raised hand.

"The man was sent here for me," Elsa noted, "He mentioned that this Drago wanted me for some reason. Probably for my power."

The stranger looked around at the ice covered men, "I see...Figures that he'd want the Snow Queen. Didn't think you really existed, though. Rumors were a little strange for my tastes."

"Says the man that turned a dragon into a lost puppy," Elsa countered.

Said dragon began whining for the stranger to come back to him.

The stranger shrugged, "Fair enough. I doubt Drago told him more than that…but there's always a chance he knows something else."

"He knows something that interests me," Elsa nodded, "I want to know how he knew where and when I'd be."

"A spy," The stranger noted.

"Indeed."

The stranger sighed, "Well, I recommend fortifying yourself at your castle. If Drago is after you and has some kind of spy, that means he's determined to get you. And that guy doesn't give up."

"I refuse to hide from someone like a coward," Elsa noted, "Who exactly is this Drago and what makes him so terrifying?"

A loud cough caught their attention, "He's the toughest man you'll ever meet," The leader of the enemy soldiers groaned as he awakened from unconsciousness and sat up so he was leaning against the railing of the ship, "His dragon army is unstoppable. No one can stand up to him. Just ask the Drifter."

"Guess I didn't hit him as hard as I thought," The stranger…Drifter mumbled.

"Go ahead and torture me. Go ahead and kill me," The soldier let out a laugh, "Drago would do one hundred times worse to me for failing him! When he realizes this didn't work, you'll be flooded with an army of dragons! Try and hide in your castle, he'll just burn it down. Cause guess what, you're a threat, Snow Queen, and Drago won't stop until you're under his thumb."

"You dare!" The captain strode forward and prepared to stab the downed man, "I have had enough of your words!"

The sword was halted when two different hands grabbed the captain's wrist. Elsa and Drifter met eyes as their fingers brushed. Drifter pulled his hand back like he had been burned, something that Elsa found curious considering her cooler body temperature.

"It…It's not right to kill him like this," Drifter muttered.

"I agree with him," Elsa nodded, "Doing this would make us into monsters. Plus, we can still use him."

Grumbling, the captain agreed. Once released, he turned away and sheathed his sword.

"Same old Drifter. Ha! Dragon Master my ass!" The enemy soldier snorted, "Too afraid to kill or let anyone die. That's the reason Drago spanked you last time. That's why you have those scars—"

He was silenced when Drifter kicked him across the face, "I may be afraid to kill, but I'm not afraid of breaking your jaw, genius."

Elsa gave the stranger a steady gaze.

"This guy isn't going to talk to me. You can have them," The stranger turned to his dragon companion and began walking to help the dragon that had yet to be calmed down, "But please don't kill them. Most of these men are just victims."

Elsa looked around at the different men she had trapped. They all looked terrified. None of them had the evil eyes that their leader had. Some of them were praying to their own gods. Some of them were crying.

Elsa turned to one of the nearby enemy soldiers, "Why do you follow Drago Bludvist?"

The man cowered before the woman who had easily beaten them all, "M-My sister. H-He threatened her. Please, don't kill me. I just wanted her to be safe."

"That's what he does," Drifter noted as he finished calming down the other dragon, "He conquers people and makes them serve him. Most of the time, women don't have to fight…"

"But he'll make an exception for me," Elsa finished the thought.

The stranger's silence only confirmed her thoughts.

Elsa eyed the man as he mounted the dragon known as Toothless, "You know a lot about this Drago."

The stranger paused and let out a sigh, "Yeah, I've been up close with him a few times."

"I have no right to ask you this, but for the good of my people and…" Anna. If Drago attacked, Anna would get hurt, "My family…I find myself in the predicament of having to ask for your help. Please, help me protect my kingdom."

"Look, your Majesty, I'm not good with people. Dragons I can handle, but humans…" Suddenly the stranger sounded tired, "I just…It's always ended badly."

"Yet you argued for the lives of your enemy. Humans," Elsa stated.

The stranger looked away, "Just because I'm not good with them doesn't mean their lives aren't valuable."

Elsa let out a beautiful smile, "I like that answer. Please, Drifter, help me save the lives of the valuable people of Arendelle."

"I…I tried helping people before. They never listened," The stranger noted as he gently patted Toothless's head, "No one ever listened. Not my home. Not my parents. And especially not Drago. If…If you promise to listen, then I'm willing to talk."

"Your Majesty," The captain stepped forward to whisper in her ear, "This might be a mistake. We don't know this man. He could have set this all up to get on your good side. Can you really trust him?"

Elsa remembered how he saved her and her men from the enemy. She recalled how he calmed the angry dragons to the point that they seemed to worship him. The memory of his defending the lives of his enemy burned in her mind.

"No, we can trust him. I know it," Elsa looked to the stranger, "Please, Drifter…Dragon Master, I'm willing to listen."

The Dragon Master stared at her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking as even his green eyes were slightly obscured from her view. For some reason, though, she felt like those words meant the world to the man in front of her.

Slowly, he reached up and removed his helm. A mane of reddish brown flowed down the man's nape. Freckles danced across his face, except on his left cheek where three long scars ran from his jaw to his ear. What really caught Elsa's attention were the man's bright green eyes that seemed to have a hidden fire in them. They held a deep contrast to her element but not in an unappealing way.

"Hiccup," His unmuffled voice danced into Elsa's ears, "My name is Hiccup."

* * *

 **Hey, if you're new to my work, then welcome. If you've read my other work, then I can explain. Since about January, I've been on hiatus to work on my original novel. It's gone well. I just need to get an official editor. Then I can work on publishing. With that done...I had to read anything else other than the same novel I've been working on for three straight months. So, I decided to look back into my archive of stories I thought about doing, and this caught my attention because it's the one unpublished story I started for which I actually outlined the entire story.**

 **The origin of this was that I wanted to try my hand at a straight up romance story. For some reason, Frozen and HTTYD came to mind. Weird, I know. Especially considering the problems I have with Frozen's MASSIVE PLOT HOLES, but it's a very charming movie overall. And I love the HTTYD series. So...Why not just publish this and see where it goes. I do plan for this to be a lot shorter than To Touch The Sky and the Obsession series, both of which I should get back to soon enough.**

 **Big thanks to my Beta jaguarspot who proofread this like...six months ago.**

 **Thank you all for reading and please remember to…**

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	2. Eyes of Fear

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 2: "Eyes of Fear"

A giant of a man grunted as he pulled his axe off of the now dead dragon at his feet. It only took one solid jerk to free his weapon, but this caused blood to splatter over his face and clothes. That was fine, though. Hopefully, the red would help hide the grey and white that had creeped in through his massive beard during the past five years.

"Oi! Stoick! You're not injured, are ye?" A rough voice from behind him caused the red haired man to turn.

"Nay, I be fine, Gobber," Stoick sheathed his axe and adjusted his spiked helmet, "Can't say the same thing for this demon. And you? Didn't lose another hand, I hope."

"Thank Thor no," A stocky blond haired man waddled over to the taller Stoick. Despite his large size and long blonde mustache, what really drew most people's attention were the peg leg that replaced his left leg and the hammer that he used to make up for his long lost right hand, "If I did, we wouldn't have a blacksmith now would we?"

"No, we wouldn't," Stoick nodded as his eyes drifted around the battlefield. Different Vikings were recovering from the battle and taking count of the dead, both dragon and human, "Especially with you running all of your apprentices off."

"Those lads? Psh! They couldn't handle being in me' shop," Gobber let out a dissatisfied grunt.

Stoick let out a sigh. He looked across the battlefield to the young man who would be taking his place as chief probably sooner rather than later, "We make do with what we have."

"Aye," Gobber nodded, "But it don't feel right, ya know? I always thought that Hiccup would…"

"Stop. Please don't," Stoick suddenly looked exhausted. He still remembered his son's face once the young man was chosen to be the one to slay the dragon in the Kill Ring. It was the last time he ever saw Hiccup, "He's gone. Wondering what could have been if he lived won't help us."

"Right, right," Gobber rubbed his face with his still intact hand, "Sorry."

Shaking his head, Stoick looked back to Gobber, "We need to get everything cleaned up and prep for the next attack. Fishlegs may generally be right about the attack, but you never know when Drago will come next."

"Aye, I'll head back to me' shop," Gobber turned and began to walk away back to his shop, "It's gonna be a long night."

That was something Stoick would agree to in a heartbeat. Drago's attacks were becoming more frequent. Their time to rest was getting shorter every attack. At this rate, they would get overwhelmed from all the unhealed wounds and exhaustion. That was why they needed help. As much as his pride hurt, it was the right thing to do.

Walking up to the soon to be next chief, Stoick quickly voiced his thoughts, "Have we gotten any word from the other tribes."

Snotlout quickly looked to his chief. He was a rather muscular young man with short black hair. Dark stubble lined his chin, but it was far away from being a full beard, "Um…I don't know. I've been out all morning."

"Aye," Stoick eyed the younger Viking that was fidgeting uncomfortably in front of him, "I suppose I should talk to Fishlegs."

"Yeah," Snotlout crossed his arms and looked away, "You know, not a lot of people are happy with the idea of begging for help."

"It ain't begging," Stoick snapped, "Drago is everyone's problem, not just ours. If we want to deal with 'im, then we'll need to work together."

"Right, right," Snotlout nodded, "I get it, but I'm getting sick of hearing everyone complain about it."

"Well you better get used to it, Lout," Stoick noted, "It's going to happen a lot."

Snotlout did not look pleased by the idea. He hated the constant criticism he received while training under Stoick. The chief himself was stern but not overly critical. It was everyone else that seemed to have a problem with Snotlout. He wasn't Stoick and never would be. It made Snotlout feel like…

Guilt surged through his chest. He should have been nicer to his cousin. Having all eyes on your failures sucked. No wonder Hiccup snapped under the pressure.

"Chief! Chief!" A young woman's voice drew Snotlout out of his thoughts. Both men turned to see a blonde woman running towards them. Unlike most of the Viking women, who were rather burly, this woman had a thinner frame that hid both her physical strength and battle prowess, "Fishlegs told me that a massager bird came in. The other tribes are willing to meet."

"Good, that's good," Stoick let out a sigh of relief, "That's the easy part though. Odin knows if they'll actually listen to me."

* * *

Anna knew that there was trouble the moment that people began to scream in terror. Yes, it wasn't exactly a subtle hint, but there wasn't exactly anything that predicted the chaos before the screams. One moment, everything was completely fine. Then, everyone was running away.

Though not able to exit the castle without guards protecting her most of the time, Anna loved to go outside whenever possible. After spending her entire life locked away, she rejoiced in every second where she could interact with the people in her kingdom. Many days, she just moved around the city outside her castle and mingled with the people. In a single year's time since she had been allowed to leave what had once been her prison, she had spent as much time as possible making up for her years of isolation.

Of course, she always tried to bring Elsa with her when the queen wasn't busy. Often times, that didn't happen, but it was a joy in the rare times in which the stars did align. That didn't get to happen today, because Elsa had left on a trip. Considering the screams of terror, though, that might be a good thing…Or a bad thing considering that they didn't have the protection of the Snow Queen's powers.

Turning to what had everyone scared, the red haired woman decided that it was a bad thing. Three ships were being pulled with ropes by literal _dragons_. In any other circumstance, Anna would be amazed. Considering that the middle ship was the ship Elsa had left on yesterday, though, now was not the time to be amazed.

"Quick!" One of her guards quickly encouraged her to flee as well, "We need to get you to safety! What? Wait! Princess Anna!"

Anna ignored them and quickly ran to the docks. With only thoughts of her sister on her mind, she rushed towards the danger without a second thought. Her green dress and red hair braids flying from her movements. She had to duck and weave in order to go against the flow of people. By the time she managed to push herself through the crowd and stands, the boats had already reached the docks and the flying dragons had landed.

To Anna's increasing shock, there seemed to be a person _riding_ the dragon that pulled the middle boat, Elsa's vessel. He looked really intimidating to Anna with his dark, spiked armor. At first instinct, Anna felt incredibly worried for her sister, "Elsa! What happened to Elsa?!"

The dragon rider looked directly at her. Despite any fear she felt, Anna refused to flinch or look away. All that mattered right now was her sister. Before she could get any answer, guards rushed around and in front of her with their weapons drawn. Despite obviously being intimidated by the sight of three powerful creatures of legend, they stood ready to defend their kingdom.

With loud roars, the two dragons on the ends dropped the ropes they had been using to pull the ships and began to growl and twitch menacingly. Anna did notice that the middle dragon looked oddly calm. The beast just tilted his head to the side and looked up to his rider. For a brief second, Anna would swear that the dragon snorted in amusement.

"Halt!" To Anna's immediate relief, Elsa's form appeared at the ship's bow. She looked down sternly at the men, "This man is not our enemy! Lower your weapons!"

Upon seeing their queen, the soldiers instantly obeyed. Though, Anna quickly noted, they didn't look completely convinced. She didn't really blame them considering the circumstances, but she was just happy that her sister was well.

Seeing that the situation was still tense, Elsa decided that she couldn't wait for the sailors to properly dock. With a wave of her hand, she created a stairs of ice that she used to descend onto dry land.

Anna quickly pushed the guards away and rushed towards her sister, "Elsa! I'm so glad you're safe! I was so worried for a minute!"

The two sisters quickly embraced. Elsa made sure to hold her sister tight to let her know that everything was okay, "I'm okay, Anna. I wasn't hurt at all."

Anna pulled away enough to look around at the dragons but still held onto her sister's arms, "Then what's with the dragons? Why was one pulling your ship?"

Elsa took a deep breath, "We were attacked by these two ships. Dozens of men boarded our vessel and even had dragons. I thought that we had no chance, but then this man saved us by taming the dragons."

The dragon rider spoke up for the first time, "Well, you did take care of the men, your Majesty. I think you did the hard part."

Elsa couldn't hide her soft laughter, "Let's agree to disagree on that, Hiccup."

Anna watched as the man dismounted his dragon and stepped beside them. He was still a fair distance from the women to ensure that he didn't seem threatening to the soldiers that were watching and waiting for their commands, "So…You saved my sister?"

"I guess. Like I said—Oof!"

Anna rushed forward in the blink of an eye and pulled Hiccup into a tight hug, "Oh, thank you so much!"

"Um…" Hiccup was stiff as a board as Anna embraced him, "You're…welcome…"

"Anna's a hugger," Elsa gave them both a brilliant smile.

"I can see that…"

"Grah!" The dragon that Hiccup had been riding decided that he had enough. He shoved his snout in between them in order to gain some attention of his own.

"Oh, right! Sorry, bud," Now free of Anna, Hiccup pulled his dragon in for a hug and rubbed his snout, "You should really thank Toothless. He did the heavy lifting, didn't you bud?"

Toothless huffed and stuck his head up proudly. Anna just looked on in fascination.

"Excuse me, your Majesty!" A few of the soldiers stepped up. They had their weapons up and ready, "You say that this man saved you? So he isn't the enemy?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded, "I would have been kidnapped without his assistance."

"Like I said," Hiccup patted Toothless's head affectionately, "Couldn't have done it without this guy."

Toothless hummed in satisfaction of his acknowledgment. He opened his mouth into a makeshift smile with his toothless gums.

"Toothless…" Anna eyed the dragon with caution, "I can see where he gets his name…"

"His fangs are retractable," Hiccup noted.

"Wow…Can I…Can I pet him?"

"He'd be insulted if you didn't."

Anna slowly reached out and brushed her fingers across his rough hide, "Wow…"

Seeing that her sister was distracted, Elsa addressed the soldiers and crowd that had now formed, "On my journey, men who serve under a man named Drago Bludvist attacked my ship! This man helped stop the attack and swiftly escorted us back to safety! He is to be treated with the upmost respect! Without him, I would not be here!"

Mumbles spread throughout the crowd. They all accepted their beloved queen's words, but they were still frightened by the sight of such beasts. Some of the soldiers were even pointing their weapons at one of the dragons. Said dragon quickly responded to the hostility by growling and blowing smoke through its nose.

Hiccup quickly rushed in between them. He held his hands out to the people with his back pointed straight to the dragon, "Hey! Hey! You're scaring him!"

"Scaring him? He's a dragon!"

"That doesn't mean that he has no feelings," Hiccup turned to the dragon and scratched under his chin. The animal quickly melted under the man's skilled petting. Once hardened eyes filled with fear and caution shifted into that of joy and content, "How would you feel if random people pointed weapons at you?"

At this, more murmurs spread throughout the crowd. The soldiers slowly lowered their weapons when they saw the beast playfully lick Hiccup's face. It was hard to argue with the stranger's logic, and based on the dragon's reaction, it didn't look like it wanted to kill anyone.

Still lightly petting Toothless, Anna leaned towards Elsa and whispered, "Does…Does he have a special gift like you? Like…can he talk to animals or something?"

Elsa giggled, "I don't believe so. He just has…a way with the beasts."

Hiccup turned to the queen, "Your Majesty, I don't think that I can leave these dragons here. They're still untrained and likely to destroy things or hurt people by accident. I'll take them back to my home and come back tomorrow morning."

"And…You promise to come back?" Elsa quickly added onto her question before any other thoughts could possibly be formed, "You did say that you would inform me more about this Bludvist."

"Yeah…I'll be back…" Hiccup nodded.

"Excellent."

Without another word, Hiccup hopped onto Toothless once more. Giving out a loud whistle, they flew into the air. The two other dragons quickly followed their tamer's command and followed the rider to the sky. They then turned away from the island and began their retreat into the distance. Soon, they were merely specks on the horizon.

Anna turned to Elsa, "I like him."

Elsa's eyes were locked firmly onto the horizon, "I do too."

* * *

Night had long since fallen on the kingdom. The end of the strange day was readily welcome for Elsa. Today had been extremely hectic and exhausting. Even excluding the trap and the dragons, the fallout was terrible to handle. There had been dozens and dozens of villagers that needed to be calmed down. She had to prep her council for the meeting tomorrow. Not to mention the letters she had had to write to cancel her political meetings overseas.

Elsa felt extremely grateful that Hiccup had taken those wilder dragons away. She doubted she would have gotten all her work done if she had two dragons burning down buildings.

Having prepped for her well-deserved night's rest, Elsa sat on the end over her bed slipping out of her slippers. The silk sheets below her wrinkled lightly under the weight of her form as the moonlight drifted in through the window. A sudden knock at the door made her want to groan, but she restrained herself.

"Elsa!" Anna's voice sounded through the door, "It's me!"

Elsa immediately relaxed, "Come in, Anna."

Anna swiftly entered the room. Her bare feet swiftly moved across the cold floor for relief. In seconds, she was seated right by her sister, "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted," Elsa admitted.

"Oh no!" Anna gasped and placed her hands over her mouth, "Am I keeping you up? I'm so sorry. I should have just waited until tomorrow. You deserve your sleep."

Elsa quickly calmed her by gently placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's fine, Anna. My door's always open to you now. Always."

Anna gained a small smile, "Thanks."

Elsa pulled her into a hug, "Of course. Did you need something?"

"Oh! Right!" Anna hugged her sister back, "I didn't really get to hear everything that happened today. I mean…dragons! I didn't even know that they were real! I want to hear everything that happened. I mean, if you're not too tired."

"It's fine," Elsa then went into great detail of the events of the day. She left out nothing, because she knew that Anna would ask about it anyway. By the time Elsa finished, Anna looked positively amazed.

"Wow…I can't believe that actually happened," Anna whispered, "Vikings…dragons…An evil guy named Drago Bloodyfist."

"Bludvist," Elsa corrected kindly.

"Weird name," Anna noted.

"Indeed, but he worries me," Elsa admitted, "Any man that can control men and dragons like that can't be taken lightly."

"Maybe…Maybe he's trying to bring dragons and people together? His ways are a bit off, but we could talk to him, right?" Anna gave her an innocent look.

Elsa didn't have the heart to deny Anna's claim right now, "Maybe…"

"But…" Anna's eyebrows turned down, "If someone that can control dragons worries you, why did you trust Hiccup so fast?"

"He wasn't controlling them. He was…befriending them," Elsa giggled, "Like a certain sister I know who makes friends with almost everyone she meets."

"You think that he's like me?" Anna questioned honestly.

"In a way…" There were several things Elsa immediately saw in Hiccup that did remind her of her sister. The ability to befriend such strange things was one of them. A stranger similarity that Elsa noticed seemed to be a strong desire for human contact. To Elsa's eternal shame, she caused Anna's near dehydration from human interaction, but she could only imagine what made Hiccup like that, "But he's a bit rougher around the edges. More…wild and outdoorsy."

"Like Kristoff!" Anna then deflated a bit, "Maybe they would have been friends. I should introduce them, but… Kristoff won't be back from his trip up the mountains for a few days. I miss him…"

Elsa laughed, "He only left yesterday."

"I know, but…still…It's too quiet without him and Sven. Even with Olaf wandering around…"

Elsa knew how close her sister was to the country's Ice Master. This was something Elsa definitely approved off. Kristoff was a good man, and he treated Anna with the upmost care and respect. If he asked for her blessing to marry Anna, Elsa would definitely approve. Of course, that didn't mean she exactly wanted to think about the implications of her sister's relationship to the man. Elsa would prefer if she could pretend that her little sister would be completely innocent forever, even if that was impossible.

"You know…Sven might get jealous of Toothless," Elsa joked, "I can picture him trying to fly to compete so that Kristoff won't think about getting a dragon of his own."

Anna snorted, "Like Kristoff would even consider that. He treats Sven like a brother. I think they're closer than we are. And not in a sweet way."

Both women burst out into giggles. The two of them leaned into each other and chatted away, even as their eye lids grew heavy and they drifted off into unconsciousness. Soon, both sisters were asleep in each other's arms. Small smiles covered their faces with them knowing that they were safely together once more despite the danger of the day or the threats on the horizon.

* * *

"Kristoff's home!"

"Yeah!"

"Welcome back!"

A tall muscular blonde man laughed as he was surrounded by what appeared to be rock trolls with green hair and large noses. They all surrounded and hugged the man. A large reindeer snorted from behind him. The trolls quickly gave the animal some affection as well.

"Hey, guys," Kristoff returned the hugs given to him, "Sorry it's been a while. I've been a bit busy."

"I bet! Anna's been keeping you line I bet!"

"Have you married her yet?"

"He couldn't have! He can't get married without us there."

"No! No wedding right now," Kristoff quickly tried to calm his adopted family down, "She wants to take things slower after what went down with her last fiancé."

"But it's been a year!"

"Yeah!" A tiny troll called out, "Break out the rings already!"

"No, no rings right now, but…" Kristoff shrugged his shoulders, "Definitely in the future if we can stand each other for that long."

His words were met with cheers. Laughing, Kristoff went to change the subject about other things. He wanted to know they were doing, but he was interrupted once more.

"Oh! The elder wanted to speak with you!"

"He said it was important."

"Step aside, he's coming through."

Kristoff watched as an older looking troll made his way through a newly formed gap in the middle of the sea of trolls. The blonde man quickly knelt before his adopted grandfather, "Grand Pabble…"

"Oh, Kristoff, look at you," Pabble reached up and pinched Kristoff's cheeks, "You've gotten even bigger. You must be eating well."

Laughing, Kristoff shrugged off the affection, "Thanks. I try. You, uh, wanted something?"

"Oh…Yes, yes…" Suddenly Pabble didn't look so happy, "I had a vision. One that worries me greatly."

"A vision?" Kristoff blinked. He hadn't seen the elder troll look this serious since Anna fell ill under Elsa's spell, "What is it?"

"I saw…fire…Everything burning," Pabble closed his eyes and trembled in fear, "So many people were hurt and dead. At the center of it all was a large man, not quite a giant but as close as a man can get. He roared and laughed as he conquered and destroyed. Nothing could stand in his way. Everything was crushed under his thumb."

"W-What?" Kristoff had never seen Pabble look so frightened.

Pabble rubbed his forehead and groaned in pain, "It hurts just to think about. But I know that was the worst case scenario. The future is never set in stone. That was a warning, and we need to take steps to prevent it."

Kristoff nervously ran his hand through his hair, "B-But what can I do?"

"There is a man that will be at your love's castle tomorrow," Pabble raised a hand. Smoke rose up to show an armored warrior riding on top of a lizard, "Kind and brave, only he knows the right way to stop the evil flames. He is the key, but he is fragile. So very easy to break. Bring him here. I need to talk to him directly."

"R-Right," Kristoff nodded, "But how do I get him to come along? I mean, he'll probably think I'm insane even if Anna backs me up."

Pabble groaned once again as a massive headache made his mind tremble in pain, "Tell him…Tell him that Berk needs his help."

* * *

" _Please, let me show you."_

" _NO! Let me show you!"_

" _No, Toothless don't! It's me!"_

 _He was struck across the face. The force caused him to tumble to the ground. Blood poured down his cheek. Too much blood. More blood than he thought could come from his face._

" _Toothless…please…"_

" _HAHAHAHAHAHA! Who's the Dragon Master now, boy?!"_

" _RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!"_

 _Fire consumed him. Pain surged through every fiber of his body. All he knew was agony. Then, after what seemed like eternity, blissful darkness consumed him and ripped the torturous pain from his body._

Hiccup's eyes snapped open. He grabbed Inferno from his side and pointed it in front of him. The fiery blade made the darkness around him flee and revealed the person who had been standing above his sleeping form.

"Don't point that me, Hiccup."

Hiccup blinked up at the figure and lowered the sword, "Well, I'm sorry that I pulled my weapon on you while you snuck up on me in my sleep."

"I didn't sneak up on you," The figure above him was obvious a female. She stood at a height that was even above his own. She was wrapped in brown armor and furs, but her usual mask was gone revealing her braided brown hair with a few silver streaks running across it, "I was just walking up to you to wake you up."

"Well, you walk…crawl pretty damn quiet, Mom," Hiccup groaned as he nudged the Night Furry he was using as a pillow, "How come you didn't warn me she was coming?"

Toothless just groaned. He refused to open his eyes. Instead, he turned his head away from the light.

"Not a threat to you, at least," Hiccup grunted out in response and stood. His blanket fell from his onto the stone floor below, revealing his torso. His mother, Valka, eyed the scars that blanketed his body in a similar way to the furs had before they had been dropped to the floor.

Hiccup stabbed his sword into the pile of wood that was his fireplace and waited until the fire had transferred to the bark before fully retracting Inferno and placing the weapon down, "What do you want, Mom? Why are you on my island?"

"Can't a mother visit her son?" Valka asked as she gave Hiccup a pleading look.

"You didn't visit for fifteen years," Hiccup replied with a spiteful tone, "Why start now unless you want something?"

Valka looked away for a second, obviously hurt by both the anger and truth behind his words, "You're trying again, right? You're trying to convince people to give dragons a chance?"

"I wasn't planning on it, but a chance popped up while I was tracking one of Drago's ships. I'm surprised you care," Hiccup mentioned as he sat down next to Toothless once again, "Considering that all you do every time I tell you about my plans is yell and argue with me."

"Hiccup," Valka stated carefully, "Please, reconsider this. People…People can't change. I've tried so many times. They won't listen."

"They've already agreed to listen to me," Hiccup sighed and leaned against his dragon, "I won't be starting with trying to teach them about dragons. I'm just giving them info on Drago. Everyone deserves that much. But the queen…She saw the dragons, and she still agreed to listen. She's…different…"

"She might seem different, Hiccup, but it's probably all an act. People…people just kill the dragons, Hiccup!" Valka knelt down and looked Hiccup in the eyes, "Normal people…They just don't understand. There's a reason your plans have never worked before."

"Maybe not. Maybe no one listened up until now, but I can't just give up," Hiccup gently patted Toothless as he reminisced about his previous efforts. He had approached more than a few villages, "I know what humans and dragons can do together. Together, they can stop Drago. I know it."

"You're wrong. If we combine our nests, we can defeat Drago," Valka argued, "Stop worrying about them. Look after your own. If you do that, then we can beat him. Then, everything can return to normal. You won't have to worry about the humans."

Hiccup shook his head and looked away towards the fire pit, "You're wrong. You haven't seen his army…his power. Soldiers. Dragons. Alphas. Our nests can't do anything against all that. Even with all the dragons I've gathered, it won't be enough. We need people…and we need a plan other than just fight him with dragons…"

"Arg! Stubborn child!" Valka quickly stood and marched to the other side of the fire pit so she could be in Hiccup's line of vision.

"I'm not a child anymore, Mom," Hiccup let out a sigh.

"Well you sure do act like one! Thinking that you know best all the time," Valka glared at her son, "You always argue with me, and look where it got you before! Remember when you disobeyed me and went to try and reason with Drago."

Hiccup's eyes snapped up to her face, "I've learned my lesson from that. I don't trust blindly anymore. With both humans and dragons. I always take precautions. I never let my guard down."

"Then why do you keep all this up? Your way has only got you hurt. Just look at you!" Valka gave a pained look as her eyes swept across the near hundreds of scars that covered his body, "If you keep this up, you'll die for sure."

"Better me than hundreds of people and dragons," Hiccup muttered.

"And there it is! That hero complex of yours!" Valka puffed out her chest in anger, "You are not their savior, Hiccup. Do not think that you're better than them, better than everyone."

"Better than them…You think that I consider myself better than everyone?" Hiccup's face twisted into a nasty snarl, "That's the biggest load of dragon shit I have ever heard!"

"Hiccup!" Valka's voice rose in pitch in shock that her son would curse at her.

Hiccup quickly pushed himself to his feet. Toothless, now wide awake, stood beside him, "I know that I'm not better than anybody. You want to know why? Because people have told me that I'm not good enough every single day of my life. For fifteen years, I was Hiccup the Useless. The worst Viking to ever live. My own father was ashamed of me. Everyone thought that things would be better if I just went away, and they were right."

Hiccup began to slowly walk around the fire, "Then, I stumbled onto you. The mother I thought was dead for fifteen years. I was so happy back then. I thought that I wasn't alone anymore. That there was someone else just like me, but I was wrong. I saw it. You love dragons far more than you love me. Every time you looked from them to me, your expression dropped. I was a disappointment to you too. Not dragon enough for you. Not Viking enough for Dad."

Valka's voice began to crack, "Hiccup, please…"

"No! Don't try to defend yourself!" Hiccup clenched his fists in anger, "You abandoned me for fifteen years! Why didn't you come and get me? Why didn't you come back at all? The reason is because you hate humans. Just like Dad hates dragons. And guess what, I have both of them in me. I can't be just one, and that disappoints everyone. Especially you."

"That…that doesn't mean I want you to die…" Valka's lips trembled as shame filled tears ran down her face.

"Don't lie…I was dead to you for a long time…" Hiccup's voice cracked a little, "Just…just go. Unless you're here to agree to combine your nest with mine AND humans, I don't want to talk to you."

"But Hiccup…"

"I SAID GO!"

Toothless reacted to his rider's anger. His body began to glow. His spine spikes jumped out. A deep rumble left his throat as his eyes began to twitch and tremble.

In an instant, the cave was completely lit by flames. Dragons all across the cave had woken up and obeyed the commands of the alpha. Fire danced from the mouths of the hundreds of dragons that surrounded the area, on the ground, walls and ceiling.

Valka stepped back, "Fine. Fine, I'll go. But please, Hiccup…Don't die."

"I don't live for you. Or for me…" Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless's head, "I do it for the one being that ever really loved me for being me."

"Right…Right…" With that, Valka turned and walked towards the exit of the cave where her dragon was waiting. As she went, she tried to stop the tears of regret that continued to flow down her face.

Hiccup continued to breath hard even after his mother left. With her gone, though, he allowed himself to break down. Crumbling to the stone floor, Hiccup punched the ground with his bare fists so hard that they began to bleed. Why? Why did she always have to do this to him? Why did people always have to do this to him?

Berk. His father. His mother. Drago. Just…people…

Hiccup felt as Toothless gently nudged his side. The dragons in his cave continued to light the darkness, but slowly, their fire began to die down, "Toothless…Am I just the biggest idiot in the world?"

Toothless's answer as to gently lick his side.

Hiccup remembered his trips to different villages, Viking or otherwise. He tried so many different approaches, but each attempt was harshly rejected. Maybe his mother was right. Maybe people hated dragons too instinctively to give them a chance, but he never gave up hope. Not until now, "I…I can't keep doing this, Toothless. I'm sorry, but…I can't."

Toothless let out a low hum of understanding.

"If this doesn't work…We'll take the dragons we rescued and run away. Go as far south as possible. It will take a lifetime for Drago to reach down there," Hiccup noted.

Toothless laid his head over Hiccup's back and silently gave his partner his support.

Slowly, the light from the dragons died down along with the fire pit. Darkness slowly fell over the cave as Hiccup looked at his bloody knuckles, "This is the last time…No matter what."

* * *

 **Yes, in this story, Hiccup fled Berk before Astrid could stop him. Then he ran into Valka. While I do love her character, I was dead shocked that no one in the universe of HTTYD called her out on abandoning her husband and son for twenty years. In my story, Hiccup will be bitter about it, but that doesn't mean that they can't move past the pain.**

 **Once again, big thanks to my most awesome Beta jaguarspot. She makes editing, the worst part of writing, suck a lot less; and I greatly appreciate that.**

 **Thank you for reading and please remember to...**

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	3. Eyes of Scrutiny

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 3: "Eyes of Scrutiny"

Stoick grunted as he threw his travel bag onto the ship. Turning, he addressed Gobber and Astrid, "I'm leaving the two of ye in charge. If Fishleg's schedule is correct, we should be back in time for the next raid, but you can never be sure."

A large blonde haired man stood nearby. He was an incredibly thick person, but despite his large stature, everyone knew how kind he was. That didn't mean he wasn't easily distracted, though. Without looking up from his book, he spoke, "Based on all the info I gathered from Drago's attack patterns, we should have just enough time. Usually, his forces come in larger bulk than the last attack. He's trying to wear us down like the other tribes that surrendered, but this last attack lacked about forty-six percent of both its usual force and enthusiasm."

Snotlout rolled his eyes and swung an arm around the blonde man, "Alright. How about saying that in words that we actually understand, nerd."

Fishlegs nodded, "Oh, right. Basically, this was just a reminder attack that he's still out there. Truth be told, he doesn't consider us a real threat or priority, so when his forces are spread out, he pulls most of his dragons away from us. It always happens when something big's got his attention."

Astrid frowned, "And what is that exactly?"

"Well…The last time this happened, he captured the Red Death…"

Everyone was silent. They were well aware of the two Tidal class dragons under their enemy's control. Word had spread of their combined power. It was why most tribes had surrendered. For good reason, too. If even one of the Alpha dragons arrived at Berk, they would be forced to surrender.

"All 'he more reason to get this done. Our only chances of winning are to work with other tribes, and…" Stoick noted, "And a miracle."

"Still, shouldn't I stay back?" Snotlout questioned, "I know that Gobber and Astrid can handle it, but won't it be dangerous to have both of us go?"

"Aye, it may will be, but ye need some experience in politics. That's the worst part of 'he job," Stoick grunted.

"It wasn't all that bad until Dagur took control over 'he Beserkers," Gobber noted, "I'm surprised that deranged idiot has killed everyone in his tribe yet."

"Even he's not dumb enough to try to outmuscle Drago," Stoick noted with a sigh, "That means I had to include him. He's definitely going to be 'he hardest to talk to. But it has to be done."

"Right," Astrid nodded, "We'll see you when you get back, chief."

"Yeah," Stoick turned to board his ship but paused after a few steps. Looking over his shoulder, he added, "And make sure to check on Gothi while I'm gone. She's been acting strange something fierce these past few days."

"Can do."

* * *

Hiccup stood at the docks of Arendelle with Toothless by his side. He had arrived early. The sun was only rising now, but he had been awake most of the night. Sleep never came for him after his rude midnight awaking. Luckily, Toothless was just as stirred up as he was. They had been scoping the city for hours.

The dragon rider could honestly say that he had been impressed. Most of the cities that he had been to were nowhere near this large or extravagant. The entire metropolis was covered with sturdier and taller buildings than Hiccup had ever seen in a Viking town. Not only that, the city spanned a massive distance with several docks, markets, and housing districts. This place was obviously wealthy and prosperous. He doubted that Arendelle had known real battle and war in a long time. That was something that wouldn't last long if Drago wasn't stopped from moving south.

As soon as the sun rose, they landed at the docks and waited. Hiccup made sure that his approach was noticeable and as non-aggressive possible. He was sure the Arendellens were probably still wary of him despite the Snow Queen's words. This was proven true by the stares and whispers that he was getting. Each passing person going to work or going about their business looked to him and his dragon with a scathing look. Not that Hiccup blamed them. They were smart to be cautious.

Caution was the entire reason he had landed at the docks. The soldiers probably immediately spotted and recognized him. They would send people to greet him soon enough.

Of course, he was not expecting the queen herself to show up.

"Your majesty, what a surprise," Hiccup blinked at the woman. He quickly pulled off his helmet and hung it from his belt, "I was kind of expecting you to send guards to fetch me."

Hiccup was mesmerized by the Snow Queen as she walked toward him. She had to be the most beautiful women that he had ever seen, not that he had a whole lot of contact with women. He didn't think that any sane person would argue with him, though. Everything about her had an unreal beauty to it. Her blonde hair. Her flawless skin. Her eyes…Gods…Her eyes shined with more complexity than the rarest of snowflakes.

He had forced himself not to stare at her more than a few times yesterday. That was part of the reason he waited so long to fly in for the save. He had been outright gob smacked by her. When he finally pulled his head out of his ass, he decided to not even look at her during the fight. If he did, he was sure he would get distracted again.

Elsa smiled at him, and that made him even more nervous. He couldn't let himself this mess up just because he got distracted by thoughts of a woman that was so far out of his league that it was like comparing the sky with the dirt, "That would be rude, don't you think? After all, you're my guest."

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, "I guess. It just seems odd to me that royalty would want to deal with me. Um, uh, not that you're strange or anything. I just…Ugh, not even a minute in, and I shove my foot in my mouth."

Elsa giggled, "Don't worry about it. I suppose it is a bit different, but I have an open door policy. I don't like to think that I'm better than my people or my guests."

"Oh, that's good," Hiccup gained a relieved look. He already knew that the Snow Queen was far nicer than rumors said, but he didn't know how tolerant she would be with his terrible speaking skills. Now he could only hope that she didn't have him executed when he inevitably blurted out his uncontrollable sarcasm.

"Come," Elsa gestured down the leading to her castle, "We have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah, come on, bud," Toothless patted Toothless's head and followed the queen.

It didn't take long for the queen to speak again, "Why didn't you just fly to the castle?"

Hiccup shrugged, "I didn't exactly know anything about how you run your kingdom. Didn't want to get shot at. Right, Toothless?"

Toothless let out a deep hum from the back of his throat. This caused the various people that had moved out of the way of their walk to flinch. They were scared. It saddened Hiccup to know that anyone would be scared of Toothless like that. A few seconds with him would let anyone know just how great the dragon was.

"I see, that's understandable," Elsa nodded in understanding, "Did everything go alright with the dragons?"

"Yeah, they're with others I rescued from Drago."

"Oh," Elsa's eyes danced as she processed that information, "So you have a lot of dragons?"

"It's not like I set out trying to make an army of them," Hiccup admitted, "I just saved them, and they had nowhere else to go."

"Hmm," Elsa stroked her chin in thought. Hiccup thought that she looked absolutely adorable like that.

"What about you?" Hiccup decided to change the topic before she got too worried about how many dragons he had at his command, "I hope my presence didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Considering where I might be if you weren't there, any trouble was worth it," Elsa noted, "It did take a while to calm everything down and get the captured soldiers locked away, but nothing too bad."

"Good," Hiccup felt relief at her words.

Elsa looked to him. More accurately to the bags under his eyes, "You look exhausted. Did you not sleep well?"

Hiccup thought up a quick lie, "Nerves. Like I said, I'm not the best with people."

Elsa rose a delicate eyebrow, "That's pretty funny. A man that lives with and flies dragons is scared about a little political meeting?"

"There's nothing scarier in this world than politics."

Elsa burst out laughing. It was music to his ears, "Fair enough."

Turning away from the queen, Hiccup noticed that they had arrived at the bridge connecting to the castle. The building towered above him with its sturdy and intricate design, "Thor almighty, what do you do with all that space."

"Mostly fill it with art," Elsa giggled, "It is a bit empty. But it's rarely dull these days, especially with Olaf running around."

"Olaf?"

"Oh," Elsa's eyes widened, "I should probably warn you about that. He's a talking snowman."

"A talking…snowman?" Hiccup fought to hold down his laugh, "Does he sing and dance too?"

"At a moment's notice," Elsa smiled brightly, "He's probably going to love to meet Toothless."

"Huh…" Hiccup looked to his dragon. Toothless just rolled his head to signify that he was just as confused, "Well, I guess I can't judge. I'm a wild man that lives with dragons, after all."

"That's a good way to think about it."

Stepping through the gates, Hiccup was awed by the beauty of the courtyard. It was bigger than his old house back at Berk. The continued past a couple of fountain until they reached the main entrance. Elsa didn't hesitate to pull open the doors and enter her home. She paused, though, when she realized that Hiccup wasn't following. Turning around, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head nervously, "You sure you want me in there? I can wait out here until the meeting. I'm sure that it will be a few hours."

"And why would you want to do that?" Elsa's asked with curiosity.

"Um, well you know, I'm not exactly the most civilized of people," Hiccup them bumped Toothless with his hip, "Plus this guy here hasn't exactly been inside a lot."

Elsa shook her head, "My sister's boyfriend is a strange mountain man with a reindeer as a best friend. Trust me when I say that you couldn't do more damage than they do on a normal day."

"If you say so…" Hiccup nodded to Toothless, and the two of them entered the castle…and were instantly floored by the decor. The walls were lined with paintings more beautiful than they had ever seen. Everywhere they looked, they saw furniture that looked like they had been imported from all over the world, "Wow…"

"That's what Kristoff said when he first saw this," Elsa hid her smile behind her hand. She led them through the castle, taking great joy in their awe. Eventually, they stopped at a door, "This is where you'll be staying."

"Staying?" Hiccup questioned as she opened to door to a room that was three times bigger than his old room on Berk.

Elsa gave him a strange look, "You are staying, correct? It will take more than a day to come a decision about what to do."

"Yeah, I knew that, but…" Hiccup eyed the room in front of him, "I was just going to fly back to my caves…"

"Nonsense, you're my guest. While you're helping us, you should stay here. Have a warm bed and hot meals," Elsa instructed.

"But…" Hiccup looked to Elsa. That was his mistake. His will instantly faltered beneath her pleading gaze, "A-Alright. I've been away from the dragons longer than a few days anyway."

"Excellent!" Elsa clapped her hands together in joy, "It will be a few hours before the meeting. You should rest and get some sleep. I'll send a servant when we're ready."

"Okay…" Hiccup numbly followed Toothless into the room, "I'll see you then, I guess."

With that, Elsa closed the door and left the two of them alone. Toothless immediately curled up in the middle of the room. Hiccup, however, took a minute to look around the room. There were a lot of dressers. A giant bed was in the corner. The carpet was incredibly soft. And on the wall…Hiccup stared at a picture of a bird sitting in a cage. Its black feathers shined in the painting. Haunting greed eyes stared back at him unflinchingly. For some reason, Hiccup felt that the bird didn't seem happy.

Sighing, he moved over to the bed. He was actually really tired, but he didn't just jump into the bed. Slowly, he reached out and poked the covers. Silk. Not only that, the mattress morphed to his touch. It was incredibly soft, too soft in fact. When was the last time he even slept on a bed? It had to be five years at this point.

Shaking his head, Hiccup moved towards Toothless. Without a word, he reclined against his dragon. Toothless immediately wrapped a wing around his rider and pulled him into an embrace. Closing his eyes, Hiccup let his mind drift.

This was surreal. He didn't even know people could even live in places like this. It was all just too much, but he supposed that it was fitting for royalty, especially Elsa. Someone like her deserved all of life's greatest comforts. Everything about her screamed greatness, her beauty, her kindness, her grace, her power.

Hiccup was honest enough with himself to admit that he was incredibly attracted to the Snow Queen. Everything about her appealed to him, even her power. He knew that some men didn't like the idea of a woman being able to overpower him, but that was never true with him. Power and battle prowess was incredibly attractive to him. Just look at his crush on Astrid.

Damn…Astrid…When was the last time he thought about her? It had to have been years. He barely remembered what she looked like. Blonde hair. She definitely had blonde hair. Well, Hiccup could definitely say that he had a type.

Besides that, though, there weren't a lot of similarities between the two. Their attitudes, the way they walked, and the way they looked at him were both different. Even their power was different. While Astrid's power came from natural talent, it did involve a lot of physical training and pain. Elsa, though, seemed to need more mental control based on what he heard. He doubted that she had even held a weapon before based on how soft her hands seemed to be. No callouses or scars in sight.

If there was another big similarity, it had to be that they were both way out of Hiccup's league, especially Elsa. He didn't even entertain the idea of ever being able to romance her. Even if he was somewhat competent in that aspect, which he wasn't, she probably had waves of suiters after her. All of whom would be better for her than an awkward man obsessed with dragons and barely able to speak without making a fool of himself.

No. There were some things best left out of even his fantasies. Elsa was one of them. It would only lead to disappointment.

With that in mind, Hiccup slowly drifted off to sleep. Just before he reached the dropping point, the door opened. Rubbing his eyes, Hiccup looked up to see what appeared to be a snowman made of three different parts, a head, a body, and his legs. A large carrot stood out from his face as a nose while curious eyes gleamed back at him. Oddly enough, a small flurry seemed to fly above him covering him in the cold.

"Hi!" The snowman waved his stick arms, "My name is Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"

Hiccup just blinked.

"Elsa wanted me to bring you this sandwich," Olaf held out a half-eaten sandwich, "I ate some of it."

And that was how Hiccup met Olaf.

* * *

"You want me at the meeting?" Anna questioned as she followed her sister through the hallways.

"Of course," Elsa nodded, "This involves you too."

"Yeah, but I'm not the best at these political meetings," Anna admitted.

"For some reason, I don't think you will be the person acting the most awkward," Elsa noted, "Our guest didn't seem very comfortable. He probably isn't accustomed to anything like this."

Anna frowned slightly, "Well, I guess that's understandable. The castle is a bit much by most people's standards."

Elsa shook her head, "I don't think that's it exactly. He mentioned that he lives in a cave with dragons. When was the last time that he was even indoors?"

Anna blinked, "Well, I, uh, don't know."

"I know," Elsa smiled, "Just voicing my thoughts."

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much," Anna noted, "He seemed nice enough yesterday. How much trouble could he be?"

* * *

Hiccup stared at the balding man in front of him, "No."

Said bald servant raised a suit, "Please, sir. You're having an audience with the queen and the royal court. You must be dressed accordingly."

"I am perfectly fine with my armor," Hiccup crossed his arm.

"But it is not appropriate," The servant argued, "You look prepared for a bloody battle, not a political meeting."

"I really don't see the difference between them. Both are pretty cutthroat. And if it comes to that, I'd feel better having my vitals protected," Hiccup argued.

"What are vitals?" Olaf questioned as he continued to pet a fascinated Toothless, "They sound super important."

Hiccup gained an amused look, "You could say that. They're organs. I need them to live."

"Oh…I don't have any of those.

"Well, then…" The servant dabbed the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief, "At least let us do something with your hair."

Hiccup looked to the female servants by the door. Both each holding a pair of sicors and brushes, "Um, no. You got a better chance of manicuring Toothless's claws."

Toothless huffed at the thought.

"See?"

"B-But…Good sir, this is highly irregular!" The servant noted, "One doesn't just get an audience from the queen looking like a savage."

"Guess what? I already did," Hiccup calmly walked to the door. Toothless was right behind him. The dragon even placed a delighted Olaf on his back to bring the strange being with them, "And if you're here, I guess that means it's time for the meeting."

The servant fidgeted as the group left the room, "Sir! Sir! Gah! Another Kristoff. That's all we needed."

* * *

Elsa's eyes drifted across the marble table. She sat in an intricate meeting hall with dozens of priceless paintings on the walls and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, "It seems that everyone is here. Let's get started. As you all know, this is Hiccup. He has proven himself to be our ally."

Hiccup waved at the hand at the people across the room. From his end of the table, he could easily see Elsa and Ana at the other end of the table. The other three people he wasn't so familiar with, but he supposed that was one of the points of the meetings.

"Hiccup, this is Gustav. He is our city's docks master as well as in charge of our naval ships." Elsa pointed to the first man on the right side of the table. Said man was an incredibly tall and lanky man. Unlike the other Arendellens in the room, he had a rather dissevled look about him with a long beard and a wild mane of hair that was pushed down by a naval hat. He wore a blue uniform that was at least a little presentable, but it lacked the polished look that the other people in the room had.

Elsa pointed to the woman sitting across from the man, "This is Grenda. She handles most of the civilian processes from the market sails all the way to managing the servants here in the castle."

Hiccup eyed the woman. She was thing, perhaps a little too thin. Her black dress covered everything from the neck down, giving her a modest look. Her graying hair was pulled into a tight bun, giving him a good view of her face. The few wrinckles on her face showed that she was aging but in a more graceful manner. Despite all this, Hiccup's eyes were drawn to her rather hooked nose that made Hiccup gain a craving for some fish.

"And this is Felix. He is the general of Arendelle's armies. Every soldier you see has been personally evaluated by him," Elsa gestured to the last man at the table. He was dressed up with a fancy suit with various metals covering the suit jacket. His white hair was slicked back. He was a clean shaven man with a rather bulky frame. Hiccup did note that his height wasn't as impressive, though.

"Um, hello. It's a pleasure to meet you," Hiccup tried his best to be as polite as possible. The Viking had to ignore Toothless as the dragon by his side let out an amused snort.

"At least he knows how to respect his elders," Grenda looked down her nose at Hiccup.

"Hahahahaha! Please, Lady Grenda! Don't scare the poor boy!" Gustaff slapped the table and let out a roar of laughter.

"Fear is a good thing," Felix eyed Hiccup with deep scrutiny. Hiccup felt like he was being evaluated from his appearance to the way he sat, "Smart of him to wear that armor. For all he knew, this could have been an ambush."

"Honestly, I just really didn't want to wear the suit the servants tried to shove me in," Hiccup shrugged, "I'm pretty comfortable in my armor."

"Good. Good," Felix looked pleased by that answer.

"Now that you're all antiquated, we can proceed," Elsa nodded to her court.

Hiccup frowned, "Is this it? I thought there would be more than four other people at this meeting."

Elsa shook her head, "Considering the importance of this information, I want only my most trusted people in this room. No one else. Normally, I would have waited for our Ice Master and Deliverer, but I don't know when he's returning. So Anna will have to inform him when he returns."

"Pst! Elsa!" Anna pointed over to Olaf who was playing with Toothless's tail.

"Oh, right," Elsa addressed the snowman, "Olaf, could you please step out for a few minutes? You know that we love you, but you can't hide a secret to save your life."

"Can't argue with that," Olaf nodded and began to walk over to the exit, "It's been hard just to keep quiet about Anna's dream of Kristoff—"

"Olaf!" Anna's face flushed a deep crimson, "Thank you! Please go!"

"Oh, right, right," With that the snowman stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Elsa coughed to bring the attention back to her, "With that out of the way, let's continue. As you all know, I was attacked…"

Once again, Elsa told the entire tale of what happened to her yesterday. She made sure to keep every detail, even if it might cause a bit of controversy.

"You believe there's a spy?" Gustov raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Yes," Elsa nodded, "It has to be from us. The raiders knew exactly where we would be and when. Not even our allies would have that much information. Someone who knew about my departure had to inform Drago of my movements."

"Well, we can't just go around making accusations," Grenda noted, "It would cause panic and suspicion."

"Exactly. That's why I want the three of you to work your own personal investigations," Elsa stated, "Find out where the information leak is and then inform me. I will wish to speak with that person myself."

"Yes, your Majesty," Felix saluted the queen, "Your will shall be done."

"Good," Elsa nodded, "As for the rest of the meeting, I will direct you to Hiccup. He has agreed to inform us more about Drago Bludvist."

All eyes turned to Hiccup. He had to fight not to fidget, and it was a fight he lost. Damn, he had psyched himself up for this and everything. All he could do was pray to Odin that he didn't make a complete fool of himself.

"Well first off…" Hiccup stared, "I would just like to point out that his birth name is actually Drago Bludvist and not a joke. I mean, that's pretty close to Dragon Bloodyfist. I always thought that was weird.

Damn it! It only took three sentences! Why did his mental filter never work!?

'Should have prayed to Loki,' Hiccup grimaced at the thought.

Despite how badly he though he did, Hiccup took a little joy in knowing that the royal family seemed to enjoy his joke. Anna had burst out in laughter while Elsa tried to hide her own giggles behind her hand. Gustaff looked amused as well, but the other members of the council seemed less than pleased.

"She meant besides his name, young man," Granda stated sternly.

"Yes, boy, come out with it," Felix glared at him, "How many men does he have? How many dragons? Ships? Bases? Allies? Everything you got."

"How many? Thor almighty, I don't think I could keep track of that," Hiccup rubbed his shoulder nervously, "I have no idea how many soldiers or dragons he has. Or ships. I do know his three main bases, though…"

Hiccup reached into his belt and pulled out a torn up and glued together map. He unfolded it and then slid it across the table for the others to see.

"What in hell's name is that? It looks like you just glued a bunch of papers together and drew on it!" Gustaff snorted.

"I don't have a lot of resources," Hiccup noted. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "I just kept adding onto it as I discovered more lands."

"It's better than what we have of the north," Elsa noted, "Thank you Hiccup."

Hiccup felt relief in his chest upon hearing that, "You're welcome. If you look at the map, you'll see three large red circles. Those are his three main bases. One is hidden in a glacier. Another is a giant maze of caves that once held a nest of dragons. The last Outcast Island. It's the place that banished Vikings went when they were discarded from their tribes."

"Why haven't you just attacked them?" Grenada questioned, "You do have dragons of your own to attack them, correct?"

"I do have dragons that I saved from Drago's ships, yes," Hiccup nodded, "But it's nothing compared to what Drago has. Going to one of his bases would be suicide. Especially because of the Tidal class dragons he has."

Anna gained a worried look, "Tidal class?"

Hiccup reached over to Toothless's saddle and pulled out a book from one of its side bags. He then opened the book to two pages that showed the dragons, "The Bewilderbeast and the Red Death. Both of them are the size of this castle. They're also alphas, so they can control the actions of other dragons."

"What?" Both of Elsa's eyebrows rose.

"Yeah," Hiccup shook his head, "Trust me when I say that only other alphas can fight off that control. Luckily, Toothless is an alpha himself, so none of the dragons on my side will be affected by either the Bewilderbeast or the Red Death."

Everyone turned to Toothless. Oddly enough, the dragon looked ashamed. It was almost like he didn't want to be alpha.

Gustaff asked the question on everyone's mind, "Why is the beast acting like that?"

Hiccup sighed, "His alpha mode was unlocked during a…troubling time. I won't bore you with too many details."

Felix frowned in thought, "So…You're trying to build up a dragon army to fight this Bludvist, and you're trying to gain some human allies as well to fight. Smart. How many different nations are you allied with?"

"I'm working on the first one now."

Everyone stared at him.

"What? I did say that I wasn't good with people."

"So, you haven't gotten anyone to side with you, young man?" Grenda's eyes narrowed.

"No. Not from lack of trying. I went to almost every Viking tribe…excluding a few," Hiccup explained, "Vikings and dragons don't get along, though. I couldn't convince them that dragons weren't all bad. They didn't even want to listen when I brought up working with dragons."

"So…It's just you?" Anna questioned.

"I…I did have a partner…a teacher that helped learn everything I know about dragons and write this manual," Hiccup patted the book in his hand, "But we had a falling out. She doesn't want dragons and humans to live together. She thinks that humans will only hurt the dragons."

"Let me get this straight," Gustaff stroked his beard, "You are literally the only person on the planet that thinks that humans and dragons can coexist? Dozens of different villages shot you down and drove you away, and you just didn't give up on the cause? Why?"

Hiccup looked to Toothless and gave his best friend a smile, "Because I used to be one of them. I thought dragons were the enemy. If I can change, so can they."

"But that didn't work, did it, boy?" Felix snorted, "So you're moving south with your plans."

"Well, yes, mostly because Drago's forces started moving south," Hiccup nodded, "It made it easy to free the dragons on the ships. I wanted to find out what Drago's plans were, and I found it out. He wanted the Snow Queen."

Elsa sighed, "Yes, that much is obvious considering the kidnapping attempt. Based on what we know, it's likely that he'll try again. So, we need to prepare. Especially for those two Tidal class dragons. As soon as we find the spy, we need to start reaching out to allies in order to prepare. I've decided to work with Hiccup to stop Bludvist. He's a threat that can't be ignored."

Hiccup slumped in relief, "That's great."

"Wait! Wait!" Grenda waved her arms around, "Tell me, young man, what do you get out of this arrangement? What do you really want, because all this seems too good to be true to me."

"My goal has always been to get humans and dragons to coexist," Hiccup explained, "This seems like my best shot, so I'm not going to mess it up."

"Excellent!" Gustaff was grinning ear to ear, "Once this spy nonsense is dealt with, we start bringing in dragons immediately! Can you imagine it! Dragons pulling our ships! Our soldiers on dragons! And with Queen Elsa at the lead, Arendelle would be untouchable."

Hiccup frowned, "Dragons are not tools for war."

Elsa shared that look, "And neither am I. As of right now, let's focus on the tasks at hand, then we can move onto how we will possibly bring in dragons. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. Especially you, Hiccup. I have to do what's best for my people. I do believe that we will need to work together to stop Drago, but if my people do not wish to accept dragons living here permanently, then I will not force them. Until I can get a read on what the people will want, the dragons will stay outside of Arendelle's city limits. Toothless will the exception, of course, but that will be it."

Hiccup nodded slowly. That was fair enough. It was definitely better than any of the other offers he got…which was none.

"Wait! Wait!" Anna stood, "Are we really going to war just like that? Shouldn't we look for other options?"

"This man tried to kidnap our queen," Felix noted, "That's an act of war, and we need to prepare accordingly."

"But should we at least try to reason with him?" Anna suggested, "I mean, if we can, shouldn't we prevent this? Can Drago be reasoned with?"

Hiccup shook his head, "No, Drago cannot be reasoned with."

"Maybe you haven't tried hard enough?" Anna suggested, "I mean, what does he even want? Maybe he want the same thing as you. And maybe he was just scared about Elsa's power. I know everyone freaked out when they saw her magic for the first time."

"Love the optimism, but no," Hiccup frowned, "Drago just want to rule everyone. He literally wants everyone under his boot."

"But—"

Everyone was surprised when Hiccup suddenly stood up. His hand reached up and unlatched part of his chest armor. He then pulled it down a bit with his shirt to show his heavily scarred chest, "This is what happens when you try to reason with Drago. This is what happens when he sees weakness. Trust me when I say, no, Drago can in no way be reasoned with."

Everyone stared at the man. Suddenly, Hiccup felt incredibly self-conscious. He quickly placed his armor back into place, "Um, sorry about that…"

"No…" Anna slowly sat down, "I-I shouldn't have assumed anything. Of course you tried to talk to him first…"

Hiccup sighed, "Look, I, uh…Are we done? I need some air…"

"Yes," Elsa nodded, "I believe that is enough for now. You three get to work and find that spy."

"Yes, your Majesty," They all said.

"Okay…I'm just…" Hiccup slowly began to step away, "If you need me, I'll be in the courtyard. It suddenly feels stuffy in here…"

With that, Hiccup and Toothless made their exit. The three members of the court quickly stood and followed. The royal sisters, however, did not move. In fact, Elsa's eyes were locked squarely on Hiccup, something that Anna noticed right away.

* * *

Elsa stood on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. She leaned against the railing and watched as Hiccup trained with his sword. Unlike before, the blade wasn't aflame, but she was certain it could be lit up in a matter of seconds. Nearby, Toothless was circling Olaf as the snowman tried to catch the dragon. It was quite the amusing sight.

Suddenly, Elsa felt something very close to her face. A glance to the side showed a fascinated Anna peering into her features. Elsa quickly back pedaled, "What?"

Anna stared at Elsa and turned to look down at Hiccup. Then, her eyes were back on her sister, "Oh my goodness. You like him."

"Well, of course I do. He is a nice person," Elsa stated.

"No. Not like as a person. Like as in romantically," Anna's eyes gleamed in happiness.

"What? Where would you get that idea?" Elsa felt her face flush.

"The way you look at him. I've never seen you look at someone like that before," Anna explained.

Elsa's heart began beating so fast that it felt like it was about to burst, "I…I…Yes, I do find him…agreeable."

"Oh!" Anna clapped her hands excitedly, "I can't believe it! My sister's falling in love! This is fantastic! I mean, realistically it was going to happen eventually, but you never showed any of interest in all the suiters that tried to talk to you. Who would have thought that you would go for the warrior Viking who saves your life?! Oh! I'm so happy for you, Elsa!"

Elsa's face was a complete flush by now, "Anna…Don't…"

"Just think! If everything goes well, we could have a double wedding…" Anna trailed off with a dreamy voice. She quickly snapped back to reality, "Oh, sorry. I'm getting way ahead of myself again. We should just focus on getting the two of you talking first."

"Anna!" Elsa gently grabbed her sister by the arms, "Stop. Yes, I do find him…attractive and kind, but…It would never work."

"What?" Anna blinked, "Why?"

"There are so many reasons, Anna," Elsa shook her head, "I'm a queen of an entire kingdom. He's a foreign dragon tamer that has no clue about politics or ruling a kingdom. There's the threat of Drago Bludvist. There's…one thousand different reasons why it can never be more than just a fantasy. One that I shouldn't even be having."

"Don't say that. There might be a thousand good reasons why you shouldn't, but there's one amazing reason why you should," Anna gently gripped Elsa's arms, "For all you know, this could be the man that you love for the rest of your life. Now, I know that I have made mistakes like…Hans, but I learned from that. Love is supposed to bring the best out of someone, and I think that's what the two of you can do."

"What do you mean?"

"Elsa, you've always been cooped up in this castle. Now, I know that you had your reasons, but it's left you restricted, especially because you still have a kingdom to run," Anna explained, "Your only real taste of freedom kind of froze over the kingdom, and it was done alone. No one should ever have to be alone. Hiccup can give you that. Imagine flying through the skies with him to different lands. Imagine expanding your horizons and discovering the new with his hand in yours."

"That does sound good…" Elsa nodded slowly, "But what about him?"

"You kidding? I know what he wants. He wants human contact, just like I did when we opened the castle gates. He's desperate for it," Anna noted, "You can give that to him. Plus, a bit more tact and manners. I think even he would admit that he needs a bit more civilization in him."

"But still…It's different for me, Anna," Elsa noted, "I can't just marry whoever I want. I'm expected to continue a royal bloodline."

"Then just call him the prince of dragons or the Dragon King or something like that," Anna let out a laugh, "I mean, you are the queen with ice magic. And he's the guy that rides a dragon. Are people really going to argue?"

"I suppose not…" Elsa stroked her chin in thought. The idea did really appeal to her, but… "It's just an attraction, though, Anna. It might not amount to anything."

"That's fine," Anna shrugged, "Better to know that it couldn't work than wonder about what could be, right?"

Elsa couldn't hold back her chuckle, "When did you get so good at arguing."

"My boyfriend is a mountain man that thinks his reindeer can talk through him," Anna smiled, "I had to learn it out of necessity."

This time, Elsa couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"But…" Anna looked down at the form of Hiccup, "I don't think that he will initiate anything. I just don't…feel that's who he is. Normally, I'd be like, 'those who won't take a risk don't deserve love,' but for some odd reason, I get the feeling that he needs love more than anyone. So you'll have to make the first move."

"I don't know if I can."

"Then I guess you'll never know if it could be love or not."

* * *

Hiccup sighed as he swung his sword down again. Sweat poured down his face, "In all, I do think that it went well."

Toothless let out a hum that let the human know that he agreed. The dragon had been chasing a cheery Olaf around the courtyard, much to Hiccup's amusement.

"Did you not think it would go well?" Olaf looked to Hiccup.

"No, not really. I'm not the best talker sometimes. I get tongue tied," Hiccup admitted as he placed Inferno away.

"So do I!" Olaf opened his mouth to show that his snow tongue was literally in a knot, "See?"

Hiccup burst out laughing. Toothless seemed incredibly amused as well.

Olaf then reached up and pulled his tongue out. His stick arms quickly untied his tongue and put it back in his mouth, "That's how I fix it, but I've been told that humans can't remove their tongues like I do. How do you fix your tongue?"

"I don't. The word diarrhea won't stop once it starts," Hiccup smiled at the snowman. He liked the strange being.

"That sounds gross."

"It is," Hiccup knelt by the snowman, "By the way, Olaf, how do you work exactly? I mean, how are you even alive?"

"Magic!"

"Magic…No other explanation?"

"Nope. Just magic and warm hugs."

Toothless was basically rolling in amusement at this point. Not that Hiccup could blame him, "Fair enough. I guess some things are just—"

"Coming through!"

Hiccup turned to see a blonde man ride a reindeer through the gates and past them, "Was that a blonde man riding a reindeer?"

"Yeah! That was Kristoff and Sven. Sven's the reindeer just so you know," Olaf noted, "Sometimes they're hard to tell apart."

"I bet…" Hiccup blinked as the reindeer slowly backed up towards them. Both Kristoff and Sven looked at Hiccup. Then they looked at Toothless. Finally, back to Hiccup.

"Ugh, hi," Hiccup waved, "This probably seems strange, but the queen—Woah!"

Hiccup's eyes widened as Kristoff leaped off the reindeer and grabbed his shoulders, "You! You got to come with me!"

"Um…no?" Hiccup looked over to Toothless and Olaf who both shrugged.

"Oh come on!" Kristoff hung his head, "Ugh, what did Grand Pabble tell me to say? Ugh…Belch needs help…"

"What?" Hiccup was starting to think that this man was insane.

"No, that wasn't it. Uh, Bark is being cut."

Hiccup laughed, "Okay, I think you hit your head. Your Anna's boyfriend, right? Maybe you should lie down…"

"Oh! I got it! Berk is in trouble!"

Hiccup immediately stopped laughing. Suddenly, things weren't funny anymore.

* * *

 **Big thanks once again to my Beta jaguarspot.**

 **Thank you for reading and please remember to...**

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	4. Eyes of Fate

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 4: "Eyes of Fate"

Astrid took deep steady breaths as she and Gobber climbed the steps leading up to Gothi's hut. A quick glance down revealed the town of Berk. While it had always been in a state of reconstruction from dragon attacks, things were ten times worse now. They barely had time to fix their homes before worrying about another attack. Fishlegs had explained that a lot of the destruction had to do with Drago not being interested in their crops and livestock like when it was just normal dragons attacking.

"All m' years, and I ain't ever seen Berk in such a poor state," Gobber's voice sounded tired and worn.

"We'll fix it as soon as we take down Drago," Astrid gained a determined look.

"Aye," Gobber nodded, but it didn't seem like his heart was in it.

Frowning, Astrid continued up the stairs with Gobber right behind her. Reaching the top of the stairs, Astrid moved to knock on the door. She paused, though, when she heard voices on the inside. Looking back at Gobber, she questioned, "Should we come back?"

"Naw," Gobber reached forward and knocked, "I got a feeling on who's in there."

"Alright! Geeze!" The door swung open to show a blonde woman with an annoyed frown on her face. Long twin pigtails hung down her body from the Viking helmet on the top of her head, "Oh, hey, Astrid, Gobber."

"Ruff, why are you here?" Astrid voiced her concern.

"Because brother dearest decided it was best to fight by breaking his ribs against a dragon's face," Ruffnut let out a sigh.

"Hey! The dragon never saw it coming!"

A quick glance inside revealed a blond man that looked nearly identical to Ruffnut. He had his shirt off, but his torso was heavily wrapped in white bandages. An older woman stood beside the bed and held a bowl up this his face with the hand that did not hold her staff. Despite being rather short, the grey haired woman was still a Viking and should not be messed with, at least by a person with common sense. The man in the bed, Tuffnut, lacked such tact, though.

"I don't need that," Tuffnut tried to push the bowl away from him, "Pain is meant to be enjoyed, not drugged aw—AY!"

Gothi smacked Tuffnut on the ribs with her staff. This forced Tuffnut to groan out in pain, allowing Gothi to pour the contents of the bowl into his open mouth. With a disgusted look on his face, he quickly swallowed, "Oh gods…That was disgusting…"

"I've seen you eat worse," Ruffnut noted

"Yeah, but on a dare," Tuffnut grumbled as he stood up, "What do I get out of it besides numbness?"

Astrid shook her head as she strode into the hut, "You get to live."

"Yeah, yeah…" Tuffnut strode past them with Ruffnut right behind them, "What's the point of life with no pain?"

"I agree with you on that one," Ruffnut laughed as she followed her brother out of the shack.

Sighing, Gothi moved about her hut putting away her supplies. Astrid looked around the soothsayer's home. Unlike usual, it was in quite a disarray. She doubted that it was simply because of the twins, not that they couldn't cause some damage. No, it was probably from the vast amounts of injured Vikings that had been coming in and out of her care.

Various berries and powders were spread across the counter and desks of her home. A large book with all of her medicine recipes sat wide open for everyone to see. Gothi silently turned the page from a recipe for bone recovery to what appeared to be a bookmarked page. As Gothi pulled out the bookmark, Astrid had to hold back a laugh at seeing a recipe for making deer fly. Despite her reputation for healing and her future sight, Gothi did have a few dud recipes.

"We don't need any healing, Gothi. Stoick asked us to check up on ye," Gobber noted.

"I can see why," Astrid's chest tightened at the sight of the tired look on their elder, "You look exhausted. Do you need some help?"

Gothi shook her head. Stepping forward, she handed the folded bookmark to Gobber.

"What's this?" Gobber quickly unfolded the bookmark to reveal that it was a full piece of script, "Oh…Been a while since you gave me one of these…"

Astrid's curiousity surged, "What is it?"

"Hmm…A prophecy…" Gobber's eyes squinted as he began to read the barely legible writing on the page.

Astrid nodded slowly. While not all that religious, she believed in Gothi's prophecies fully. When the woman said something was going to happen, it would happen. She could even predict when a person would die based on their tongue. That's why most people kept quiet around the elder. Some things were better left unknown.

"What?" Gobber frowned at the page, "Lerk will fern? A wagon ring?"

Gothi smacked Gobber over the head with her walking staff.

"Ow! Loki's balls! Okay! Okay!" Gobber went back to the looking at the page, "Oh…Oh, gods…"

"What is it, Gobber?" Astrid felt dread in her chest as Gobber paled.

"Please tell me that yer joking?" Gobber looked to Gothi.

The soothsayer just shook her head and walked away. She slowly made her way to her bed and sat down. Astrid realized just how exhausted the woman looked. It was like the elder hadn't slept in days. Dread quickly changed to panic.

"Gobber…Tell me what that says."

"It's ah…not a normal prophecy…" Gobber handed the paper to Astrid. It really didn't make any sense to her, but she figured it gave him a free hand to wipe his forehead, "It's, uh, about a dream she had. Berk was burning. Stoick's door was covered in blood. Drago defeated all the Vikings, and…moves south. After that…"

"What is it?"

"A dragon king will be crowned either by fire or ice."

Astrid looked to Gothi in fear, "But the future isn't set, right? All that…It doesn't have to happen like that, right? We can change it with our choices."

Gothi looked up at the girl. Her voice came out cracked in separated words, "Choices…already…made…"

* * *

A giant of man sat in a large wooden throne. Dark, long dreadlocks fell over his head to cover the carved wood just like the scaled cloak that covered his massive form. The throne stood at the center of a large battleship that floated at the center of a massive armada being pulled by dragons. As wind brushed across the man's scarred and frowning face, he sneered at the men around him.

"Drago! Good to see you!"

Drago's sharp eyes turned to see a handsome, young man approach him. The man had slicked back, black hair and blue war paint on his chin. The Dragon Master took a sick pleasure in knowing that the man's fur covered chest held scars that he provided.

"Eret…"

"Son of Eret," Eret flinched at the look on Drago's face, "Sorry. Instinct. I didn't mean to insult you. So, let's just keep everything calm."

Drago grunted and looked away, "How many dragons did you bring?"

"Seven," Eret seemed satisfied with his answer.

Drago, however, wasn't, "Not good enough. The dragon riders took a dozen in the last week."

"I…" Eret went pale, "Catching that many dragons…That's a steep order. You have to realize that."

"I do," Drago sneered at Eret, "But you are the greatest Dragon trapper alive, no?"

Eret's face showed his panic for a brief moment before he quickly thought of a way out of this, "Of course! In fact, I'm sure that I could bring you a hundred dragons…if you could get me a lead on the Night Fury's rider."

Drago knew what Eret was doing, "Yes, I realize that the little bug has been the thorn in my side. I've been having my trackers looking for him, but none get close."

Eret clapped his hands together, "Just give me a direction. I'll bait him and—"

"That won't work, pretty boy!"

Eret groaned as large man with a disheveled beard approached them, "Alvin. A pleasure as always."

Alvin the Treacherous snorted at that. His armored helm and shoulders shifted in his movement. His scratchy voice racked against Drago's ears, "Ain't nothing about me pleasurable. Especially right now, cause yer gonna hate tha news."

Drago's eyes shot up a bit at hearing this, "What is it?"

"Tha Night Fury rider won't be baited because he's working with the Snow Queen now."

Drago was now on his feet, "What?"

"Aye, it seems he intercepted yer attempt to kidnap tha fair queen," Alvin explained, "Our fly on their walls sent a message last night. Tha rider saved the queen, stole the dragons, and got yer soldiers arrested."

Drago was silent for a moment before letting out a roar. He grabbed his staff and swung it around to smash the throne behind him, "How. Did. He. KNOW?!"

"Probably followed the boat through the night," Eret suggested, "That Night Fury is hard to spot even in daylight. At night, no one would know if that thing was in the sky."

"Damn it…" Drago seethed in anger, "Now the queen knows about my army. Getting to her will be a lot more difficult."

"Not to mention that she'll have the rider's dragons at her sides," Eret blinked as he gained inquisitive glances from the other men, "What? Her beauty is famous, and I get the feeling that guy hasn't even talked to a woman before. One look that even might possibly suggest something, and he'll cave to her."

"Aye, the boy's right," Alvin nodded, "I told ye! Going after tha Snow Queen before conquering tha Vikings was stupid! Like I said, we should a' burned that gods forsaken Berk to the ground then—"

Alvin was silenced when Drago rushed towards him. The Dragon Master threw his staff to the side and grabbed Alvin with his only functioning arm. With a snarl, Drago lifted Alvin up with his one arm and started to shake the Viking around, "I know of your vendetta, fool! Berk is of no consequence to me! I already have a man on the inside! In a moment's notice, I could tear them apart!"

Alvin desperately clawed at the hand choking him, "Then…why…don't you?"

Drago glared at Alvin, "You think me stupid, Alvin the Treatourous? I know you have a knife ready for my back the moment I conquer Berk."

Eret watched as Alvin's face turned black and blue, "Um, boss, I know you're in the moment, but you might still need him. The Outcasts could turn on you without him, and their info on the tribes have made it easy to conquer the iles without even a fraction of your full force."

With a snort, Drago threw the gasping Alvin away, "You're right. That's why I haven't killed the fool yet. But things have changed. If the Snow Queen is really going to work with the Night Fury rider…No, we still have time. It will take a bit for them to trust each other, but I will still have to work fast…"

"Um…" Eret watched as Drago thought over his next moves.

"The time for waiting is over," Drago declared, "The remaining tribes had their chance to surrender, and I have built my army up enough. You want Berk, Alvin? You got it. Time to actually put a little effort into this war."

Drago stepped to the port of the ship. As he moved, he picked up his staff. He let out a beast of a roar that drew the attention of everyone, human and dragon, "Send out a notice! All ships and allied tribes are to return to us! Now is the time to conquer the north! Then, we head south and take the Snow Queen's power! Get everything ready! MOVE! AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

As his soldiers followed his commands, Drago swung his staff around and continued to roar. This caused all the dragons to flinch in fear. Only two dragons didn't back down in fear. One was the massive ice dragon below the surface of the water. The other was a gigantic dragon flying above them. It was a dragon that cost Drago a lot of soldiers and front line dragons to catch, but it was worth it because…

The legendary Red Death combined with the Bewilderbeast would make Drago unstoppable.

* * *

"So…" Hiccup's eyes drifted to his companions as they trekked through the woods, "Trolls?"

"I was skeptical at first too," Anna looked back to him and smiled gently, "But they're as real as your dragon."

Toothless hummed at the sudden acknowledgement.

Kristoff leaned in close to his love and whispered, "Not that I don't love having you around, but you didn't really need to come. I got a feeling this guy gets jumpy around too many people."

Anna was quick to whisper back, "I came for Elsa. She needs encouragement."

Kristoff blinked. He looked back to see Hiccup ridding his dragon…which Kristoff was still trying to wrap his mind around. At least he was handling it better than the reindeer that he and Anna were currently riding. Sven looked ready to jump out of his skin. In contrast, Toothless looked completely calm despite carrying both his rider and the queen of a foreign land, "Encouragement for what?"

Anna looked back once more to see Elsa sitting close to Hiccup, "Don't worry about it. I'll explain later."

"What are you two whispering about?" Hiccup's voice revealed his edge. He didn't like this situation. Hearing about Berk from a man that shouldn't even know about the Viking village was unnerving to say the least. His guard was so active that instead of noticing how a beautiful woman was pressed against him, he thought about how he could stop her if she decided to flash freeze him.

"Nothing!" Anna called back.

This did not ease Hiccup's paranoia, "For the record, I don't like this. If Toothless didn't like you, I wouldn't have agreed to come."

Elsa leaned close to whisper into his ear, "Remain calm. The trolls have always been friends and allies with the royal family. Their words and predictions are always accurate."

Despite his paranoia, Hiccup felt a shiver roll down his spine over just how close beauty personified was to him, "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. Please don't make me regret it."

"You won't. I promise you," Elsa didn't move away from Hiccup, "You'll love them, I assure you."

Before Hiccup could speak up again, Kristoff announced, "We're here!"

Hiccup was quick to examine the area. It was a rocky clearing filled with large stones. There was no obvious traps, but an ambush could be set up in the surrounding woods, "We are?"

"Yep!" Kristoff hopped off Sven and helped Anna off as well. Hiccup and Elsa quickly followed their examples.

Hiccup took in the silent clearing. His hand drifted to his belt, "So…where are the trolls?"

"All around! Wake up guys!"

Hiccup's eyes widened as the rocks jumped to life and transformed into trolls. They quickly went to rush towards the familiar faces in greeting but paused when they saw Toothless. Said dragon and his rider shared a look of shock.

"K-Kristoff…" A female troll eyed the dragon, "Are they the ones Grand Pabble sent you after?"

"Yeah, they—Woah!" Kristoff was silenced when Toothless rushed forward to sniff a troll. The troll stiffened as dragon examined her. After a few seconds, Toothless decided that he liked the troll and licked her with his thick, forked tongue.

"Hahahahahahaha!" The troll laughed and began to pet the dragon, "He's just like Sven!"

This lightened all the trolls' moods. They rushed to the dragon and began to shower him in pets and praises. Sven snorted in indignation at the sight.

"Oh come on," Kristoff elbowed the reindeer, "You're family to them. Toothless is just an attraction."

To everyone's surprise, Hiccup immediately pulled a piece of paper from his belt. He knelt on the ground and began to sketch the trolls using a piece of coal, "Amazing…They camouflage themselves as stones…Brilliant, but dangerous to travelers looking for a spot to relieve themselves…"

A child troll walked up to Hiccup and held out a hand, "Excuse me?"

Hiccup immediately took that hand and gently shook it, "Impressive. Your skin is actually as thick as stone. Heavy as them too. Yet you move around with ease. You're so incredible."

The troll beamed at the praise, "Thank you!"

"Not to be rude or anything, but I have a question I've been dying to ask a troll since I was a child," Hiccup stared at the child troll, "Do you steal socks?"

"Yes, but only the left ones."

Hiccup swung his head back and let out roaring laughter, "Hahahaha! That's so great! Oh, I bet Gobber would give his good leg to…"

Suddently, Hiccup's mood instantly soured. He quickly gathered the sketch which Elsa had been examining and placed it back into his belt, "Right. Not here for fun. I need to see this Grand Pabble. He mentioned something about my…a place that's very important to me."

"Right!"

"Grand Pabble!"

"Your guest is here!"

The trolls parted to let the elder walk through, "Ah, thank you for your quick return, Kristoff, Sven."

Kristoff smiled, "It was no problem."

Pabble then looked to the women and bowed, "Your majesties. It is a pleasure to see you."

"Hi, Pabble!" Anna rushed in for a hug that Pabble was quick to return.

Knowing her role as a politician and queen, Elsa politely nodded, "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Oh, you girls have grown so much," Pabble released the embrace with Anna, "But I must speak with the Dragon Master now."

Hiccup continued to kneel as he gave the elder a scrutinizing look, "You can call me—"

"Hiccup Horrendus Haddock III," Pabble noted, "Oh, I'm aware of who you are, my boy. I am sorry to disappoint you on the fact that your name didn't keep the trolls away, but at least it worked on the gnomes."

Hiccup chuckled despite having his full name revealed without his consent, "So far."

Pabble smiled, "Indeed."

"So…Kristoff learned about Berk from you…and you know my full name," Hiccup noted, "Is this a magical troll thing?"

"It is indeed. I have seen things that you need to know."

Hiccup glanced to the other humans in the area, "And I'm guessing that we can't take this somewhere private?"

"No, this affects them too," Pabble gathered dust from the ground and threw it into the air. The dust morphed into different images. They saw a younger Hiccup riding Toothless away from an island, "Long ago, you chose the safe path to freedom."

"I didn't have a choice—"

"This is not condemnation, child, merely facts," The dust changed slowly to show Hiccup grow and gain a bunch of dragons that flew along him, "You've grown extraordinarily, but you faced great problems."

Hiccup clenched his fists as the dust flaired with magic to show dancing images. The image of Toothless threw dust version of Hiccup to the ground. A dark figure appeared and pointed to the downed Hiccup. Toothless instantly mauled the downed rider.

Hiccup heard Toothless moan in regret. Out of instinct, Hiccup stood and reached for the sword on his belt, "Stop it."

"I know the truth hurts, but it must be shown," Grand Pabble spoke gently, "While your physical injuries have healed, your mental ones are still fresh. You now find yourself at a bypass."

The dust shifted through several different images. It was so fast that it was barely seeable. Hiccup's form hid the images from the other humans. He saw Berk burning and covered with stains of blood. It then shifted to Arendelle crushed beneath a massive dragon. Different images of dead bodies all appeared before his eyes. None was more upsetting than the vision of Toothless's lifeless eyes.

Hiccup's face dropped into depression, "Please…Stop it…I can't…"

"All this can be avoided. You just have to make the right choices," Pabble explained, "Follow where your heart leads, but don't let your fears and pain guide your decisions. You will be confronted by many choices soon. Be warned that flying away from your problems again will lead only to destruction this time. It is time to face your past and future head on—Wait!"

Hiccup didn't listen. He dismissed the magic and dust with a wave of his hand. Then, he turned and began to run away from the clearing. Toothless was right on his trail.

Elsa's eyes followed after them, "You showed us his deep, personal matters."

"They needed to be brought to light," Pabble stated, "He has hid them for too long. This is where you come in…all of you. All of you will soon make choices of great consequence as well. I give you the same advice. You must be wary of your fear and pain, but you also need to follow your heart. In the upcoming struggles, what seems logical at the time might only be a product of your darkest concerns."

"I see…" Elsa nodded, "Then I will do just that."

Without another word, Elsa rushed after the rider and his dragon. Anna's first instinct was to run after her sister but was stopped by Kristoff, "What are you doing?"

"Listening to Grand Pabble and following my gut," Kristoff gently kept his hold on the young woman, "That guy has some issues. I think he's a lot like me actually. He's a bit of a fixer upper."

Anna stopped struggling.

Kristoff smirked and winked to the giggling trolls, "We can do the song if you want."

"No…" Anna sighed, "I just worry."

"And that's the fear, right?" Kristoff pulled Anna into a hug, "I may be dense, but I now get why you wanted Elsa to come too. Don't tell her this, cause she can freeze me and all, but in a lot of emotional ways…She's a bit of a fixer upper too."

* * *

Toothless quickly rushed past Hiccup and got in his way. Hiccup was forced to stop his run and look at his longtime companion. The dragon gestured to his saddle. A small smile found its way onto Hiccup's face, "Yeah, bud. Let's go."

Hiccup hopped onto Toothless's back. Just as they were about to take off, a voice called out to them, "Hiccup! Wait!"

Both Hiccup and Toothless turned to face Elsa as she ran to them, "Oh…Sorry for running off without a word, but I really need to clear my head—"

"Take me with you."

Hiccup blinked, "Excuse me?"

"Take me with you on your flight," Elsa stood straight in determination, "I have a feeling that if I don't go with you, then you'll never return. I-I don't want that."

Hiccup bit his lip, "Look, I don't think that's a good idea."

Elsa smirked, "Do I need to use the queen excuse on you? You are on my land after all. It would be an extremely rude gesture to ignore a simple request from your gracious host."

Toothless eyed Elsa. He sensed no ill intent from her. Nodding, the dragon nudged his rider to make him agree. Hiccup raised an eyebrow, "You too? Alright, but being up in the sky for the first time can be pretty scary, and I don't feel like staying low."

Elsa quickly joined the man on the saddle like before, "I can take it, oh Dragon Master."

"If you say so," Hiccup grabbed the saddle's grips, "Let's do it, bud!"

With a cry of joy, Toothless obeyed his rider and rushed high into the sky. Elsa's scream quickly accompanied his flight. Hiccup could only laugh at that. As the screams and laughter faded away, the woods was quiet once more. That is, until the familiar form of Valka slipped out of from the shadows of the trees. She had used special herbs to hide her scent from Toothless in order to help her spy on her son and keep him from getting harmed in this strange kingdom.

Valka frowned as she remembered what she learned about the trolls today…and the memory of the look on Elsa's face when the queen looked at Hiccup. It reminded Valka of her days of courting Stoick.

* * *

Elsa tightly clung to Hiccup and buried her face into his armored back. Her eyes were clenched shut in fear. She could feel her heart hammer in her chest. Short, quick breaths replaced her normally calm and collected breathing.

"I wouldn't do that," Hiccup warned, "Not as much oxygen up here. You could pass out."

"Back down…" Elsa whispered, "Back down, please."

"You're the one that wanted to come up here," Hiccup snorted, "Besides, I can't go down yet. The sunset is beautiful up here."

Temptation surged through Elsa's chest. Despite her fear, she forced her eyes open to see the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. She was soaring high above Arendelle. Red and orange blazed all around her reflecting from the clouds that were merely an arm's reach away. Feeling the wind gently rush through her hair, Elsa couldn't help but ease her grip on the man in front of her. She could only look on in awe as Toothless moved upward through the clouds and then back down to leave a trail of mist in their wake.

"This is amazing," Elsa said in awe, "I never thought I'd see my home like this. Thank you…both of you."

"It's mostly him," Hiccup patted his dragon, "Toothless is the best."

Toothless gurgled in satisfaction at the praise.

"True, but I wouldn't have seen this without you," Elsa noted, "Where you come from…I'm guessing that they don't like dragons."

"That's an understatement."

"Hmm…" Elsa leaned in once more to Hiccup's back and watched the sun slowly set in the horizon, "You know that I hid myself and my powers away in my castle for most of my life?"

Hiccup looked over his shoulder in surprise.

"My parents were afraid of my powers. 'Conceal don't feel' was what my father used to say. So I hid everything about myself from everyone, even my sister," Elsa sighed, "I don't resent my parents. They meant well, but they didn't handle it well."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, "Why tell me that?"

"Because I learned things about you that were personal," Elsa explained, "I thought that this was fair."

"Oh…" Hiccup looked away and sighed, "You're probably dying with questions. Look, I really don't want to talk about my home much."

"Will you be returning there to help?" Elsa questioned.

"They think that I'm dead, and I don't want them to know otherwise. It would bring shame to my father," Hiccup noted, "And I can't ride in without a face. No way they'd trust me. But I can send a warning…"

"Oh?" Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I need time to think about it," Hiccup nodded to himself.

"Fair enough," Elsa took a deep breath, "You probably knew that this was coming. Can Drago control Toothless like in that vision?"

"Not anymore. It's part of the reason he has his Alpha Mode," Hiccup felt Toothless tense beneath him. He calmed the dragon with a pat to the head, "I was stupid. When I first heard about what Drago was planning, I tried to talk him out of it. He just laughed. Used his Bewilderbeast to control Toothless. Ordered him to attack me, and Toothless couldn't fight it."

Toothless moaned in regret.

"I know, it wasn't your fault, bud," Hiccup soothed his friend, "I got hit with one of his firebolts. I'm lucky that I was wearing a prototype of my Night Fury armor. It stopped me from getting killed, but I was gravely injured. Seeing me broken snapped Toothless out of it and activated his Alpha Mode. He grabbed me and used his modified tailfin to fly on his own and take me to M…my teacher. I got healed up there."

"I see…" Elsa mumbled. She remembered the scars on Hiccup's chest, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I'm not," Hiccup noted, "It hardened me. Set me up to become stronger. I now know that you just can't talk some people down. Sometimes, you need to be vicious."

"That is true," Elsa couldn't argue against that, "Thank you for telling me so much."

"No…" Hiccup closed his eyes in contentment, "Thank you for listening."

* * *

By the time Toothless landed, it was night time. They touched down in the castle courtyard. Hiccup quickly got off the dragon and helped the queen down as well. Once she was on the ground, Elsa noted that she could see her own breath, "Oh, it's cold out. I didn't notice."

Hiccup shrugged, "The cold never bothered me anyway."

Elsa stared at Hiccup.

"What?" Hiccup questioned, "My home…Berk was settled twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death."

Elsa giggled, "You must be kidding."

"I am not. It's located on the Meridian of Misery in the Barbaric Archipelago," Hiccup shook his head, "Vikings suck at naming things."

"Obviously," Elsa looked to Toothless, "I've seen his fangs."

"They're retractable," Hiccup noted.

"I see…"

"You should probably get inside before your servants start to worry," Hiccup noted.

"Indeed," Elsa turned to the man, "Do you still plan to stay?"

Hiccup looked up to the darkened sky, "Too late to head back to the caves now. Might as well stay the night and head out tomorrow to deal with the Berk thing. It shouldn't take too long."

"I see…and you will return?"

"Yeah, but it may take a few days," Hiccup noted, "I don't like to leave the dragons alone for too long. They need me to be around at least a little."

"You could move them here," Elsa suggested, "I know a place in the mountains that would be perfect for them."

Hiccup's face scrunched up at the thought, "No. I don't think that's for the best just yet."

"You still don't trust me," Elsa's lips twisted downward.

"I've only known you for two days," Hiccup argued, "No offense or anything."

"Yes…" Elsa still seemed displeased by this.

Hiccup was confused, "You okay?"

"Of course. It makes no sense for me to feel hurt by this," Elsa turned away, "It would be arrogant of me to demand so much of you. I should really do better…"

"Look, I'm not particularly good with words, but I can read body language," Hiccup mentioned, "You've been fidgeting like you're just dying to say something. I'm an expert on that. Is there something you want to criticize me for?"

"What?" Elsa turned around with a surprised face, "Of course not. Why would I criticize you?"

"I dunno. That seems to be what most humans do."

"Well, I'm not most humans. It has nothing with what you did wrong. It has to do with the fact that I…" Elsa trailed off.

Hiccup sighed, "Okay. You don't want to talk about it, and I'm tired. We'll continue this later."

"No," Elsa shook her head and took a deep breath, "I have the feeling that I won't get this chance again if I let it go now. I want to tell you something. I'm just trying to find the right words."

"Okay…"

Elsa met the man's stunning eyes, "You understand the process of courtship, right?"

"Well, I've never been a part of it, but…" Hiccup's eyes widened, "Oh man! Are you engaged!? If I'd have known that, I wouldn't have flown for so long."

"No, that's not it," Elsa looked exasperated, "I'm not engaged. I'm also not currently in a courtship. There are plenty of men interested, but none have caught my attention until now."

"Until now? Who—OW!" Hiccup grunted when Toothless wacked him over the head with the dragon's thick tail, "What?"

Toothless rolled his eyes and nudged Hiccup.

"What do mean going over my head…" Hiccup's jaw suddenly dropped as he realized what Elsa was referring to, "Ooooooh…"

Elsa's face was flushed so badly that her head felt like it was steaming, "Yes."

"Me?" Hiccup pointed to himself, "I caught your interest? The wild, dragon raising, Viking caveman?"

"You sell yourself short," Elsa argued, "I mean…Every girl dreams of being saved by a strapping hero, even powerful queens. Plus, your treatment of dragons and people alike shows your kindness. Not to mention the hidden depths you show. You make your own equipment and from what I saw are a terrific artist. How could a woman not be interested?"

"Well, no one has ever expressed a desire for…" Hiccup gestured to himself, "All this before."

"You just gestured to all of you."

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded, "Especially angelically beautiful queens with the powers to cause a second ice age."

Elsa tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "Angelically beautiful?"

It was Hiccup's turn to blush.

"So…You have entertained the idea."

"Well, of course," Hiccup shrugged, "But I think about a lot of stuff that's improbable."

"It's not improbable. I'm offering it right now," Elsa struggled not to stutter, "I wish to court you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III."

"And…that will intel…"

"We just get to know each other better. No real commitment, but we'll be aware of each other's interest."

"I see…"

"So…what do you say?"

Hiccup couldn't help himself, "I-I'd like that."

* * *

After a long day of sailing, Stoick finally got a chance to rest his weary bones. With the knowledge that Snotlout could wake him if anything went wrong, he laid down. His body creaked and moaned at the motion. Damn, when did he get so damn old? Everything was tiring now it seemed. He cherished the time he could rest, because his mind was far more tired than his body could ever be.

"Da!"

Stoick's eyes snapped open to see a young Hiccup about the age of eight holding up one of those strange contraptions that he was always messing with. Ah yes, this was also why he enjoyed his sleep. For in his dreams, he still had his son. The child was smaller than average but sharper than most adults ever seemed to be

"Look!" Hiccup pressed something and the strange contraption in his hand shot out a small disk. The top shot to Stoick who sat in a large chair next to a roaring fire. Stoick chuckled as the disk connected with his beard.

"Oh wow!" To Stoick's shock, his beloved wife stepped from behind him. Her fingers gently brushed against his cheek before plucking the disk from his beard. Stoick didn't even try to hide the shiver of delight that he felt by the feeling of having her close once more, "Our boy's a genius, Stoick. Hiccup, did ye make this yourself?"

"No, Gobber helped me, but I thought of it!" Hiccup bounced onto Stoick's lap and showed them the device. The child then began to explain what it was. Stoick couldn't really comprehend how it worked or why it would be useful, but his son's brilliance delighted him all the same.

He should have appreciated it more when he still had it.

Hiccup suddenly stopped his explanation and looked to his father, "Da, why're you crying? I thought you said that big Vikings don't cry."

Valka leaned into to see that Hiccup was telling the truth, "What's wrong, love?"

Stoick decided not to answer with words. Instead, he grabbed onto them and pulled them into a large hug. He allowed the tears and sobs to sound out unchecked, "I'm so glad to have ye with me."

"Of course, we're with you, Da," Hiccup gently patted Stoick on the shoulder, "Where would we go?"

"I had the most terrible dream," Stoick sucked in a large breath, "Ye were both taken by dragons."

"Oh, Stoick," Valka turned her head to kiss his cheek, "Don't cry. You're stuck with us."

"Promise?" Stoick blinked as Valka disappeared from his grasp, "Valka!"

Hiccup quickly climbed out of Stoick's lap, "Da? You told me that Ma died when I was a babe."

"Yes…she did…but…" Stoick blinked and saw that Hiccup had grown to his fifteen year old self. The large giant was quickly on his feet, "No. Hiccup…I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Dad?" Hiccup now had a notebook in his hand. Stoick always remembered how the boy used to love to draw and write.

"I expected too much from ye," Stoick gently placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. To his shame, the boy seemed confused by this action. He had never been gentle with him before, "I wanted ye to do things my way…but that wasn't fair. Always had so much of yer mother in ye. I should have supported that. Odin knows that she was the most special person I ever met. If I didn't try to force ye to be something ye weren't, then ye might have lived."

"Dad, I'm standing right here," Hiccup gestured to all of him, "I'm obviously not dead."

"No, that's not what I mean," Stoick knelt down to Hiccup's level, "Don't leave me, son. I love ye."

Hiccup smiled, "But Dad, I'm already gone."

With that, Hiccup disappeared. Stoick was alone once more. He collapsed to his knees and began to sob into his hands just like he did many times in the privacy of his own home. As the light faded from the fireplace, Stoick was reminded of all he lost because he wasn't good enough for his family.

Stoick awoke with a gasp. He sat straight up to see Snotlout in front of him, "Um, chief. Our destination is in sight. I was just coming to wake you."

"Thank ye," Stoick forced himself up with a grunt. He walked to the bow of the boat and looked down at the water to his reflection. He had dreams like that many times ever since his son was lost. He disappeared the day when he was selected to kill the dragon at the end of his training. Astrid said that she tried to follow him that day to find out how he got so good but was held up by her mother and chores.

It didn't take long for them to send out a search party. Finding where Hiccup went to took even less time. They tracked him to a burned down cove littered with fish bones and black scales that none of them recognized. Not only that, they found Hiccup's knife abandoned and covered in blood.

There was a lot of theories, but Stoick thought that he had the best one. He remembered vividly the night that his son claimed to have shot down a Night Fury. At the time, it seemed like lunacy, but in retrospect, Hiccup did show his potential in besting the beasts. Hiccup did manage to knock the creature of the sky, and it didn't forget it. It waited and rested in that cove. Once it was healed, it must have ambushed Hiccup and carried him away. For the second time, Stoick lost his most precious person to the dragons.

For a long time, he was filled with rage. That eventually faded into fatigue and depression. He made so many mistakes in his life regarding his family. Why did he have to argue with Valka so often about the beasts? Why couldn't he have saved both Hiccup and Valka that fateful day? Why didn't he treat Hiccup like he deserved? Why didn't he just LISTEN to his son? Maybe if he did all those things, they would be with him in real life instead of just his dreams.

Sighing, Stoick shook his head and stepped away from the boat's edge. The time to think about the dead was over. He had to focus on the living now. His son and wife could wait until he reached them in Valhalla.

* * *

Hiccup leaned against Toothless and looked up to the ceiling in the darkness. In his hand was a simple note that warned him not to trust the queen. It seems as though his mom was spying on him again. That was to be expected, though, and he used that to his advantage. He had ordered the Terrible Terror that she sent to deliver a warning to Berk. There was no guarantee that they'd heed the warning, but if the message got to whom it was intended for, then his old home might have a chance. That should solve one problem and leave him to deal with another.

He was well aware about what his mother was warning him. It could still be a trap to get to his dragons. Even her suggestion at courtship could all be a play to get on his good side. The timing was very convenient after all. Of course, it could also be her lack of interpersonal and relationship skills that caused that. It wouldn't be smart to let his guard down.

No. Best not to think about it too much right now. He rarely got to live such dreams. Enjoy it now, and think about it later. He had other issues to deal with. His dragons needed him tomorrow. His mother was obviously still scheming. It was only a matter of time until Drago realized what happened with Elsa. Especially with a spy that could be anywhere in Arendelle.

Well, that wasn't true actually. Drago wouldn't settle for some low ranking soldier or servant. It had to be someone higher up. The spy would need to know everything about the queen yet be able to move about without anyone noticing. It could only be someone Elsa trusted enough to tell her plans. Not a whole lot of people fit that description. Anna was off the list for obvious reason. Kristoff was an option, but he didn't look like he could lie like that to save his life. So that only left…

Hiccup immediately sat up, "Loki's balls…the spy has to be one of Elsa's advisors."

* * *

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